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Introduction

Australia's high labour costs early this century were largely responsible for the decline of the local coffee industry. We could not compete with countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Indonesia and Central America who dominate the world coffee trade, which is now worth a massive $A24 billion annually.

With machine-harvesting, an Australian coffee industry could reduce its harvesting costs to one tenth of the cost of hand-harvesting and so be more cost-competitive with imported coffees. There is however a limit to the protected, frost-free land available for the production of high-quality, high-yielding, machine-harvested coffee. The sub-tropical growing areas of eastern Australia favour the production of high quality `Arabica' coffee which is preferred for the expanding `Roast and Ground' market.

Many of the traditional production, harvesting and processing techniques have had to be modified or replaced to suit mechanisation and the different economic and climatic conditions in Australia.

Freshness, a lower caffeine content and a `pesticide free' or `organically grown' image are attractive qualities of Australian Arabica coffee. There is also interest overseas in the mild, medium-acidity, `stomach-friendly', speciality coffees which are being produced. The challenge is to produce enough consistent quality coffee to take advantage of these market opportunities. Growers will have to cooperate in eliminating the individualism and poor practices which have led to industry fragmentation and inconsistent quality.

Coffee is free of major pests and diseases, and can be grown near urban areas. Moreover, the coffee growing areas of Australia are well supported by the high-quality engineering, fabrication and servicing expertise needed for machine harvesting and processing.

Markets and marketing issues

Only 200 t of green bean (the final dried stage before roasting) were produced in Australia in 1996, compared with the 49,000 t of green bean we imported. Imports were worth around $225 million in 1996.

Our small domestic production of Arabica coffee is sold to the higher-priced speciality outlets and tourist market in Australia, while some is blended with imported coffee. Half of Australia's total production (100 t) was exported in 1996. Not enough is produced for reliable supply to major buyers or to develop exports.

Coffee can be sold as `cherry' straight from the tree to a processor within 24 hours of harvest, but most is processed on farm or cooperatively to the dry parchment stage. Parchment coffee can be stored for up to 12 months until ready for sale or processed further by `hulling' to produce green bean, ready for roasting. Roasting is a specialised, skilled operation which needs experienced operators.

In developing markets for Australian coffee, consistency of supply and quality are critical. Coffee growers are starting to appreciate the advantages of shared processing and the development of a quality-assurance scheme.

World coffee prices are subject to dramatic fluctuations, usually because of climatic effects in Brazil where a quarter of the worlds' coffee is produced. The prices have varied from around $2.50 to $12/kg green bean over the past 20 years with an average price of around $4/kg. Recently world coffee prices declined from the end of 1994 at $7.50/kg, to the end of 1996 at$3/kg. Prices rose sharply due to a shortage of supply particularly in the Arabicas, peaking to over $8/kg in May 1997. Prices received for Australian coffee have varied with the world price but have generally been much higher. North Queensland which produces 90% of Australia's coffee has received from $3-8/kg while the smaller quantities of NSW-grown coffee have attracted much higher prices partly because of its scarcity and partly because of the promotion efforts of local producers.

Production requirements

The cultivars grown today in Australia prefer a relatively mild, frost-free, subtropical climate with mean temperatures between 15°C and 25°C and as a consequence coffee does well in elevated tropical and frost-free sub-tropical areas (see Figure 1 - not available in this html version). Temperatures below 7°C and above 33°C slow growth and reduce production. Coffee is highly susceptible to frost and even short periods below 0°C will defoliate the bush.

The rainfall pattern is probably one of the most critical requirements. For machine harvesting to be successful a reasonable synchronisation of flower and fruit ripening is required. In an area with a reliable dry season during flowering (winter/spring) and where there is irrigation, flowering can be controlled by deliberately water-stressing the trees and then heavily irrigating. A reliable dry season and cool temperatures during fruit ripening (winter) are also required to aid machine harvesting. (See figure 1 - not available in this html version). Wet and warm conditions during fruit ripening can dramatically reduce harvested yields. For the rest of the year reasonably well-distributed, high rainfall is preferred. Good irrigation can overcome the need for high rainfall.

The soil needs to be well drained and aerated, as coffee does not tolerate waterlogging. A free draining depth of at least 0.5 to 1.0 m is preferred. Where coffee is grown on more fertile, volcanic soils, irrigation and fertiliser management is much easier than on very sandy soils.

Overseas literature recommends an altitude of 900 to 1200 m for Arabica coffee cultivation. However, this altitude really relates to suitable temperature and rainfall patterns. Research in Australia and growers' experience have shown that good quality coffees can be grown at altitudes from 15 to 900 m.

Flat ground is preferred for machine harvesting, but hydraulic levelling on the machine allows it to harvest up and down slopes of up to 15° and side slopes 6-8°.

Shade is not required for coffee production. Where adequate nutrition and irrigation are provided, yields are greater without shade.

Coffee trees are very sensitive to wind damage, which can severely reduce productivity: therefore windbreaks are essential. Wind can cause ringbarking in young trees and also cause them to lean over, which reduces the efficiency of the harvester.

Given these climatic requirements many areas along the Queensland and Northern New South Wales coast are suitable for coffee production.

Varieties

Agronomy

Seedlings are raised in seed-germination beds under 50% shade and then transplanted into polythene planting bags at the
2-3 leaf stage. Seed takes 4-8 weeks to germinate. The plants are then gradually sun-hardened and are ready for field-planting in about 8-12 months. Some growers have planted seedlings bare-rooted. Planting is usually carried out at the start of the wet season.

Trees are planted in hedge-rows for ease of machine harvesting, weed control, fertilising, irrigating, spraying and mowing.

Trees are spaced between 0.75m and 1.0 m apart within the rows and 3.0 to 4.0 m apart between the rows (depending on the cultivar and climate). This gives plant densities of
2500-4400 plants/ha. A ground cover is usually established between the rows to reduce erosion.

Before planting, the ground is usually deep ripped and cultivated along planting lines. Trees are planted into mounds (30-40 cm). It is important that rocks, sticks and stumps are cleared from the field to enable the harvester to operate smoothly.

Windbreaks should be established before field-planting as trees are sensitive to wind damage. Pinus caribaea and Barner grass (Pennisetum spp.) have been used successfully as windbreaks.

Coffee trees are fairly slow to establish in the field for the first 12-18 months because of inherently slow growth rates and poorly developed root systems. Therefore weed control in the early establishment period is critical. The planting rows should be mulched and kept weed-free for 50 cm either side of the plants. Pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides are used but young trees are sensitive to spray drift.

Fertiliser

Coffee trees grown intensively under full sun have a very high nutrient requirement. Before planting, fertilisers are incorporated into the planting strip (especially phosphorus) and soil pH is adjusted to 5.5 to 6.0. Fertiliser is then banded along the rows at 4-6 week intervals. As trees come into full production (year 4 and 5) 300-400 kg nitrogen and potassium/ha and 15 kg phosphorus/ha are needed. Foliar fertilisers are often applied in times of peak need. Common nutrient deficiencies experienced in Australia have been zinc, iron, copper and magnesium.

Irrigation

Pest and disease control

The only significant disease in coffee trees is cercospora (Cercospora coffeicola), a fungus which causes leaf spotting and defoliation and attacks fruit, causing premature ripening. It is most prevalent in warm, wet weather, in nurseries and early field-establishment. In bad attacks, repeat sprays of foliar copper (copper oxychloride
4 g/L) will control the fungus.

Harvesting and processing

Within the harvester frame are two vertical shafts which carry hundreds of fibreglass fingers (40-50 cm in length). The fingers vibrate laterally and rotate through the bushes as the harvester moves forward down the row. The cherry (fruit) is dislodged from the branches by the action of the fingers and is caught on a catching frame which transports the cherries to storage bins on the harvester. An Australian coffee-harvester is now commercially available (manufactured by AUSTOFT). Other machines for use on smaller plantings and steeper land are under evaluation, including a tractor-drawn machine with a similar harvesting mechanism and hand-held harvesters which remove cherry from individual branches.

As ripening commences, the coffee cherry changes from green to red, then to dark red-purple and eventually black when over-mature.

There are two processing methods to obtain green bean which is used for roasting. The simplest method is `dry processing' where coffee is harvested over-ripe and then dried to 10-12% moisture. The dried skin and parchment is then removed by hulling, leaving green bean coffee. This method is commonly used to process robusta coffee and produces a lower quality product than `wet processing'. In wet processing, coffee is harvested as ripe, red cherry. The cherry is pulped to remove the two seeds from the skin. The seeds are fermented to remove the sticky mucilage layer around them and then dried to 11% moisture. The parchment and silver skin are then removed by hulling and polishing, leaving green bean coffee. The bean is referred to as `green bean' because of its colour. It normally takes between 6 and 7kg of cherry to produce 1kg of green bean coffee. This method of processing produces the best quality coffee. Most of the coffee produced in Australia is processed using the `wet' method. The problem with this has been that to produce top quality coffee all the cherry must be red ripe and immature green cherries must be removed.

When machine-harvesting is used (as opposed to hand-harvesting), cherry samples for processing often include various amounts of over and under-mature fruit as well as mature, ripe, red cherry. These samples when processed with traditional processing equipment, produced very poor quality coffee. Until recently this was the major problem of the newly established Australian coffee industry. New processing systems have now been developed. One developed by QDPI uses size grading and selective tyre-pulping to separate cherry of different maturities, so that top quality coffee can be produced even from samples with mixed cherry maturities. Another system now being imported from Colombia requires much less water than traditional systems, is portable and removes the sticky mucilage without lengthy fermentation.

Coffee growers usually process their coffee to parchment stage or green bean and then sell this to processors for blending and roasting. However, some of the Australian growers roast their own coffee and do some of their own marketing. Quality is assessed by bean size, freedom from defects and liquor quality. Prices are significantly better if you sell the bean as speciality or gourmet coffee. No central marketing group body or cooperative yet exists but cooperative and group marketing initiatives are under way in northern NSW.
 

Economics of production

The studies investigated the profitability of a new 20 ha plantation and a 10 ha plantation on an existing farm, with both farms using contract harvesting. Both studies found that these plantations were marginal for the yields and market prices at that time. The conclusion from those reports was that a yield of 2 t green bean/ha and a price of $4/kg are required to make coffee production profitable. These yields and prices would appear achievable given the improved world prices and increase in yields from improved production practices, varieties, harvesting and processing techniques since these reports were written.

Establishment costs are estimated at $5,600-$7,000/ha (year 1), with operating costs of $1,700-$2,000/ha (year 2 and 3) and $2,700-$3,000/ha (year 4-10).

A new 20 ha plantation requires a capital outlay of around $560,000 before any income is received. A 10 ha plantation required $135,000 until the first harvest, and an additional outlay of $20-50,000 for a processing factory.

It has been suggested that a return of price of $6/kg green bean is needed before coffee growing becomes competitive with macadamia growing in northern NSW.

First commercial yields are expected in the third year after transplanting. Full commercial yields are expected five years after transplanting, where conditions are good. Some form of tree rejuvenation (pruning) will be required in years 7 to 10, depending on the variety, to maintain the trees in a productive and manageable state for harvesting. There is a reduction in yield in the year following pruning. Stumping (pruning to 30 cm above ground level) may be required after year 10, depending on climatic conditions, production history and management. No production occurs for two years after stumping which should be done on a rotational block basis to maintain cash flow.

The following table (not available in this html version)gives a summary of expected net income (after growing, harvesting and processing costs are accounted for) per year for one hectare of coffee harvested by machine. Recovery % refers to the percentage of prime cherry recovered by the machine after harvesting losses.

It is assumed that it will cost $1.00/kg of green bean to process. This amount has been accounted for in the above examples.

Key contacts

David Peasley
Horticultural Consultant
P.O. Box 542
Murwillumbah, NSW 2484
Phone/fax: (02) 6677 7174

Ted Winston
Horticultural /Coffee/Agricultural Consultant
P.O. Box 203
Mission Beach, Qld 4852
Phone/Fax: (07) 4068 8796
 

Key references

Clowes, M. St. J., Nicoll, W.D. and Shelly, R.S. (eds) 1989 Coffee manual for Malawi 1989. Tea Research Foundation of Central Africa.

Hosegood, G.J. 1991 Diversifying into coffee in far North Queensland. Queensland Department of Primary Industries Information series Q 191036.

Lines-Kelly, R. 1997 Coffee growing in Australia—a machine-harvesting perspective. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, Kingston, ACT

Peasley, D.L. 1990 Proceedings of the New South Wales Coffee Marketing Summit. NSW Agriculture, Murwillumbah, NSW

Reilly, T. 1990 Investment in Arabica Coffee on the New South Wales North Coast. NSW Agriculture, Murwillumbah, NSW.

Rothfos, N.B. 1985 Coffee production. Gordian-Max Rieck GmbH, Hamburg.
 

About the authors

David Peasley (WDA), (CPAg), Horticultural Consultant,  has worked for 10 years to develop a coffee industry in northern New South Wales, evaluating cultivars and investigating harvesting systems suitable for the terrain and climate of the area. In 1990 he organised a coffee marketing summit to ensure that there would be a market in Australia for commercial coffee.

See Key contacts for the authors’ addresses.