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Ecuadorian Coffee Bean Overview

Ecuador has a coffee cultivation area of 305,000 hectares, with Arabica coffee accounting for 68% and Robusta coffee making up 32%. Coffee, cocoa, and bananas are Ecuador's three major traditional crops, serving not only as sources of income for farmers and bringing foreign exchange to the country but also as important crops that provide employment and social stability. Due to the sharp decline in international coffee prices around 2000, Ecuador's coffee bean cultivation gradually shrank, and its share of world coffee production continued to decrease. By 2009, Ecuador's coffee bean production accounted for only 1% of the world's total. However, Ecuador's coffee export volume has gradually increased, mainly because the country's instant coffee processing industry is well-developed, allowing it to import foreign coffee for processing and re-exporting in addition to domestic production.

Low Productivity in Ecuador's Coffee Plantations

Approximately 85% of Ecuador's coffee plantations are operated by small-scale farmers who lack technical guidance. Their coffee trees are old and mostly unupdated, resulting in very low average yields and difficulty maintaining quality.

Due to the large number of small farmers, many of whom are not members of coffee associations, Ecuador's actual coffee production is difficult to track. The total production figures compiled by the National Coffee Association (COFENAC) often fail to reflect actual output, leading to the peculiar situation where export volume exceeds production. According to statistics from Ecuador's Export Promotion and Investment Agency, the country's total export volume in 2010 was approximately 40,955 metric tons. By weight, 45% of this was processed coffee (commonly known as industrial coffee, including extracted concentrates or instant coffee), while 55% was coffee beans. However, in terms of value, industrial coffee exports accounted for 65%, while coffee beans represented only 35%, highlighting the importance of coffee processing to Ecuador's coffee industry.

Ecuadorian Coffee Bean Production Distribution

Ecuador's coffee plantations are generally not large in scale. About 80% of coffee farmers cultivate areas smaller than 5 hectares, 13% cultivate between 5 to 10 hectares, and only 7% have plantations exceeding 10 hectares. According to statistics, of the approximately 300,000 hectares of cultivation area nationwide, 20% of coffee plantation land is illegally occupied. According to data from Ecuador's Coffee Association, the most important coffee-producing region in Ecuador is the MANABI province. The coffee cultivation areas by province are listed in the following tables:

Ecuadorian Coffee Production by Province

Arabica Coffee (Café Arábigo)

Robusta Coffee (Café Robusta)

(Note: According to statistics from Ecuador's Coffee Association (COFENAC), the national coffee cultivation area is only over 200,000 hectares, which differs somewhat from the over 300,000 hectares reported by Ecuador's Export and Investment Agency.)

It is estimated that compared to other countries, approximately 85% of Ecuador's coffee plantations have low unit yields, reaching only about 250 kilograms per hectare (of dried coffee beans). Brazil's yield reaches 1,550 kilograms per hectare, while Vietnam achieves 2,250 kilograms [2]. Only about 15% of coffee plantations are cultivated and harvested professionally, with yields reaching 750 kilograms per hectare.

The reasons for this low productivity are that most coffee trees in Ecuador have aged (between 15 to 80 years old), and worse still, they lack professional care. In many growing regions, coffee farmers scatter coffee plants across extensive woodland areas. Due to insufficient rainfall, lack of irrigation systems, limited capital, inability to hire workers for proper care, failure to properly manage pest and disease infestations, and unprofessional harvesting methods, productivity remains low. Common coffee pests in Ecuador include Broca del Fruto (coffee berry borer) and Minador de Hojas (leaf miner), while common diseases include Mal de Hilachas (thread blight), roya (rust), ojo de gallo (eye spot), and mancha de hierro (iron spot).

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