One tonne of lower grade coffee seeds is estimated to fetch around $5,800, while a tonne of special-grade seeds will fetch up to $7,000. The coffee will be exported at the start of April.

“The export of more than 40 tonnes of coffee will include produce from a combination of coffee planters from Ywar Ngan township,” U Win Aung Kyaw told The Myanmar Times on Saturday..

Last year, Myanmar exported 36 tonnes of special-grade coffee seeds to the US at a price of $7,000 per tonne.

Ywar Ngan township as a whole is capable of producing 700 tonnes of coffee within one coffee season.

Besides the US, Myanmar also exports its coffee to other countries like the UK, Switzerland and its neighbours in ASEAN like Malaysia and Thailand. Last year, it exported 18 tonnes of premium-grade seeds to Switzerland at $4,000 per tonne. This year, it will also export 12 tonnes of Shwe Ywar Ngan coffee seeds to the UK.

“Two years ago, only buyers from Europe were aware of [Myanmar coffee]. But now Asian countries such as Taiwan are also becoming aware. Myanmar’s Ywar Ngan coffee is actually well-recognised in both local and overseas markets now,” said U Win Aung Kyaw.

Awareness of Myanmar coffee became more widespread in Asia after last year, when the country participated in a ceremony in Yunnan, China, to establish the Asia Coffee Association, which consists of 48 countries from Asia. Myanmar coffee won second place in a competition against coffee from other nations.

“30 judges from various countries evaluated the coffee. Indonesia was ranked first with 87 points, Myanmar got second with 86.29 points and China was third with 84.24 points. We had the opportunity to promote the quality of our coffee to the world,” said U Win Aung Kyaw.

Now, buyers are willing to pay for high quality coffee produced in Myanmar. “They will first get their experts to examine the coffee and then buy according to quality. A price will be named only if the coffee scores above 80 out of 100 points,” said U Win Aung Kyaw.

“Ywar Ngan coffee is making a name for itself in the oversea markets. We’re currently working to acquire a trademark for coffee produced in Ywar Ngan. This will provide protection for growers and give them better prices for locally-produced coffee,” said U Win Aung Kyaw.

In 2014, domestic coffee prices were around K3.5 million per tonne. That has risen by almost a third to K4.5 million per tonne today. There are a total of 80,000 acres of coffee plantations in Myanmar, according to U Win Aung Kyaw.

Currently however, there is no systematic production process for coffee and growers lack the know-how and equipment and machinery to scale production.

Source: https://www.mmtimes.com/news/shan-state-will-export-coffee-us-meet-rising-demand.html