China’s largest coffee producing city in southwest Yunnan Province played host to the first Asia Coffee Annual Conference (ACAC) on Friday, as the region seeks to broaden the appeal of its growing coffee industry.
Mangshi City of the Dehong Autonomous Prefecture in Yunnan Province has been announced as the permanent host of the ACAC event, which was held as part of the week-long International Conference on Coffee Science taking place in the provincial capital of Kunming.
The conference seeks to boost cooperation among Asian countries on coffee plantation and processing, with Mangshi City seen to be at the heart of the industry in China.
Yunnan accounts for 99 percent of China’s coffee plantation area and output with its capability for intensive processing seeing it producing 130,000 tons of coffee annually. In addition, there is a new production line under construction which will handle 20,000 tons of instant powder coffee.
Despite these impressive production figures, leading industry experts in Yunnan still have ambitions for the province to develop an even stronger coffee industry with a more global reach.
“I think, first of all, Yunnan should promote the growth of the coffee industry from a strategic perspective. Because coffee has become an international consumer product, its growth will greatly boost industry in Yunnan and its competitiveness. Secondly, Yunnan should invest more on coffee research and development, and technology. Indeed, it should build centers and labs focussing on coffee research and development.
And thirdly, Yunnan should build up its own coffee brands which I hope will become recognized alongside some well-known global brands like Starbucks,” said Zhao Gang, a researcher with the strategic research institute of the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology.
Asia has been one of the fastest growing markets for global coffee consumption, with China also experiencing a rapid growth. Statistics show Chinese consumers pay about 150 billion yuan (almost 22 billion US dollars) for coffee annually with the figure growing at a rate of 20 percent each year. Insiders predict China will consume over 200,000 tons of coffee in the next five years.
“China’s coffee consumption, culture and market will benefit all in Asia in the future. Through something as small as a coffee bean, we can help enable better connect all Asian peoples,” said Hu Lu, vice-chairman of the Yunnan Coffee Industry Association.
The 26th International Conference on Coffee Science was staged in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan Province, from 13th to 19th November, attracting experts from all over the world who work in the field of coffee science and technology
