Local Coffee Trader In Bengkulu Short Of Supply

Bengkulu, April 19 (Antara) - Local traders of coffee beans could not meet big orders this week from wholesale traders and exporters outside the province. Coffee farmers in Bengkulu could supply only up to 20 tons of beans every week as against orders of 50 tons because harvest has not fully taken place in Bengkulu, a local trader Zurdinata said here on Friday. Zurdinata said demand for coffee is rising from distributors or wholesale traders in Lampung and South Sumatra to meet their export quota. He said harvest is yet to come to a peak mainly in hilly areas to last until end of May, adding currently harvest takes place only in lowland areas such as Bengko and Benuanggaling. Orders have come not only from wholesale traders in Lampung or South Sumatra but also from producers of powdered coffee in Java and North Sumatra, he said. The selling prices of coffee beans by farmers in Bengkulu range from Rp16,000 to Rp17,500 per kg depending on quality. Bengkulu also supplies cacao beans, demand for which is also increasing this week, to other regions at a price of Rp18,000 per kg. Coffee and cacao wholesales traders and exporters in Lampung have relied more on supplies of the commodities from Bengkulu. Head of the Bengkulu Plantation Service Ricky Gunarwan said the provincial administration has set a budget for the provision of 350,000 grafted seedlings of coffee plants for the local farmers this year. The seedlings will be distributed among farmers in the coffee production centers in the regency of Kepahiang, Ricky said, adding Kepahiang is the largest coffee bean producers in the province. Robusta coffee has been grown by farmers in traditional system that harvest takes place only once in a year, he said. Grafted seedlings will grow faster and harvest could be every month, he said.