We hope that the price would remain stable until the grand harvest expected in July-August."Bandarlampung, Lampung (ANTARA News) - Lampungs exports of coffee rose in value to US$17.2 million in March with shipment totaling 9,123 tons or an increase on-year.
"The exports also rose month-on-month from US$13.6 million in February with shipments totaling 7,469 tons," a chairman of the Lampung branch of the Indonesian Association of Coffee Exporters (AEKI) Muchtar Lutfie said here on Tuesday.
Muchtar, however, attributed the increase partly to production stock held by farmers from last year.
Exporters also released stock to meet sales contracts,for fear that their contract would be cut next year, he said.
He said the price of coffee was stable at a relatively high price of Rp19,500 per kilogram encouraging farmers to release all of their stocks.
"The price of coffee is expected to continue to improve encouraging the farmers to better tend their crop, now brginning to bear fruits," he said.
He predicted Lampungs coffee production would increase in 2014 under two years cycle with favorable climate.
Sunyoto (60), a farmer from Waytenong, Lampung Barat, said the price of coffee at the level of farmers was stable around Rp18,500-Rp19,000 per kilogram.
The price rose from Rp16,000 per kilogram several months earlier.
"We hope that the price would remain stable until the grand harvest expected in July-August," he said.
Lampung is one of the largest coffee producing provinces in the country.
Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer after Brazil, Vietnam and Colombia and the second largest producer of robusta coffee after Vietnam.
(Uu.H-ASG/F001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2014
