Reduced prices and yields brought the value of Hawai’i coffee production down last season to a five-year low, according to a government report.
The Hawai’i field office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said farm-level sales of Hawai’i coffee totaled $25.6 million in the 2009-10 season. That was down from $29.6 million in the prior season and was the lowest since $19.9 million in 2004-05. The recent high was $37.3 million in 2005-06.
Farmers harvested 6,300 acres of coffee last season, which was second most in the last six years. But farmers obtained an average $3.20 per pound for their crop, which was down from $3.40 in the prior season and a recent high of $4.55 in 2005-06. Yield also was also relatively low at 8 million pounds of dried beans, down from 8.7 million pounds in the prior season.
