Prices for Hawaii-grown coffee rose to a record this past season, but growers of the crop statewide produced fewer beans that added up to less total revenue, according to a new report.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture published final estimates Wednesday for Hawaii’s coffee industry that said farmers generated $50.3 million in revenue in the 2014-15 season that began late last summer and concluded in the early part of this year. That was off 4 percent from the record $52.1 million the season before.
Production of coffee for sale fell 11 percent to 7.5 million pounds last season from 8.4 million pounds the season before. The drop was partially offset by the average price paid to farmers rising 8 percent to a record $6.70 per pound from $6.20.
However, there is some doubt as to whether the amount of coffee farmed was underestimated this past season.
The number of acres planted in coffee statewide had been rising for six consecutive years until a 400-acre drop to 8,600 acres this past season from a record 9,000 acres the season before. The number of acres harvested had a corresponding 400-acre decline after nine straight years of increases.
Kathy King, the Department of Agriculture statistician in Hawaii overseeing the report, said there was a change in how the department made estimates last season for farms that don’t respond to surveys. That change, she said, possibly produced an undercount.
“I cannot believe that acres in the crop are going down,” King said.
Kimo Falconer, president of the 400-acre farm MauiGrown Coffee Inc. in Kaanapali, said he believes the industry did not shrink this past season.
“I continue to plant more coffee here on Maui,” he said, adding that he knows of other farms that expanded. “It’s a growing industry.”
Coffee is grown commercially on Hawaii island, Oahu, Maui, Molokai and Kauai. There had been 950 farms statewide in the seasons that ended in early 2013 and 2014, though the new report said a number for last season was not available.
The report, which was produced in cooperation with the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, noted that efforts to control a pest that was declared a major threat to the local industry in 2010 are showing signs of progress. Still, the pest known as the coffee berry borer beetle remains a concern, the report said.
Coffee berry borers lay eggs in coffee beans, producing larvae that eat the beans and degrade the quality and yield of marketable coffee. During the last four seasons, yield — or the amount of usable beans — was pretty stable at about 1,000 pounds per acre, the report said.
The bug was discovered on Hawaii island in 2010 and was confirmed to have spread to Oahu last year. The beetles have not been found on other islands.
