MILAN – Nestlé Coffee Center and the Yunnan Agriculture University signed a memorandum of understanding Monday to improve coffee plants in the city of Pu’er in southwest China’s Yunnan Province.
The two organisation will share their combined expertise to improve Yunnan coffee industry’s competitiveness and foster sustainable development.
The Swiss food giant said it would purchase around 10,000 tonnes of coffee beans in Pu’er between 2018 and 2019, the largest coffee plantation center in Yunnan.
Nestle will also transplant new coffee plant varieties to different places in Yunnan to find out the best variety in six years or longer, according to Wang Hai, general manager of the coffee center, which started operation in Pu’er in 2016.
“The cooperation between Nestle and the university will combine international and indigenous technology to raise Yunnan coffee’s prestige in global markets, and benefit more local coffee growers,” said Lu Han, head of Pu’er municipal coffee and tea industry bureau.
Pu’er has 52,600 hectares of coffee plantation areas and an annual trading volume of 100,000 tonnes of coffee.
Nestlé has been involved with coffee production in Yunnan for the last 30 years, and the company has successfully produced seven new coffee varieties at the Nestlé Coffee Center since 2012.
