Australian Coffee Growers Struggle As Global Prices Soar – CoffeeTalk

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Australia is a coffee-loving nation, but less than half of one per cent of the coffee consumed in the country is grown here. The global price of Arabica beans peaked at US$3.47 (AU$5.60) per pound in December last year, its highest price since 1977. This could trigger a boom in demand for home-grown coffee, but grower Richard Gibson does not think so. He owns a small-scale coffee plantation at Teven, on the NSW north coast, and is expanding her plantation as demand increases.

Coffee roaster Charelle Harkins primarily imports beans to process at her facility at Grassy Head on the NSW mid-north coast, but her company has been looking at Australian suppliers. She sees potential for Australian coffee to cushion the market to some degree, so they are not so dependent on the importing of coffee from other regions. However, the amount of Australian coffee being grown is tiny in comparison to the demand.

Land prices are a major barrier to expanding the Australian industry. Finding land with the right drainage and soil type, enough water, and accessibility for mechanical harvesters is becoming increasingly expensive. Coffee requires specific growing conditions to be commercially viable. To actually start a farm, to buy the land for 100 acres [40 hectares], you’re looking anywhere in excess of $1 million to $3 million to get the block of land to get started.”

Australian Grown Coffee Association president Rebecca Zentveld said the cost of labour was adding to the final cost of coffee grown here. She believes that Australian coffee is competing on quality, specialty, and ethical production values. She would like to see Australian coffee receive more attention, as it will be valued in the years to come with the recognition that coffee is rare and what if we couldn’t bring in the imported coffee?”

Australian coffee has its own unique taste, which depends on the micro-climate, such as soil type and rainfall. Subtropical NSW and south-east Queensland coffee is chocolate, berry, sweet, and Far North Queensland coffee is more chocolate, nutty, and biscuit in taste.

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Source: Coffee Talk

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