By: Staff Writer
April 27, 2021
A Jamaican coffee producer increased exports by 10 percent in 2019 as well as increased overall operational efficiency due to direct support from the Caribbean Export Development Agency.
Basil Jones, owner and managing director of Coffee Solutions Limited in Jamaica, said about the support: “The Direct Grant Assistance Scheme (DAGS) is impacting regional businesses in a positive manner. It allows companies to undertake project[s] three to five years in advance of the company’s realistic projection. The funding facility should continue to help Caribbean firms achieve their full export potential.”
Coffee Solutions Limited considers itself a “global player” in the roasting and exporting of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee. They also provide equipment and machinery for pulperies, coffee works and coffee shops and are the leading coffee post harvesting consultants and cultivation specialists.
Coffee Solutions needed to improve the storage of its coffee beans to ensure quality and consistency of the products for the export market and become more competitive. To achieve this Coffee Solutions set out to reduce energy costs, generate revenue and decrease its carbon footprint on the environment.
The DAGS was responsible for adding value to Coffee Solutions’ production system and claims to have enhanced productive capacity and efficiency by introducing Product Enhancement techniques as well as renewable energy and conservation methods.
Coffee Solutions undertook the implementation of an energy efficient, cost cutting and quality improvement venture under the Direct Grant Assistance Scheme (DAGS) in 2018 funded by the European Union via the 11th EDF Regional Private Sector Development Programme. The funds were used to improve the company’s competitiveness, growth, and long-term sustainability. The project comprised the installation of a solar power system/photovoltaic renewable energy system to lower energy costs and reduce the company’s impact on the environment. The project also included the acquisition of a shipping or trucking container to be retrofitted as a green coffee beans storage facility, and the installation of a solar power system to provide temperature and humidity-controlled storage to improve the quality of green beans and to ensure more consistent finished products going to market.
The mid-term impact of these interventions has been an increase of staff by one employee, an increases in 2019 in exports by 10 percent, increase revenue/sales by 10 percent, reduction in Energy Costs/Consumption by 110 percent along with an increased profit margin for farmer and reduced operational costs and/or Wastage of between 20 percent to 30 percent.
After the DAGS project implementation Coffee Solutions saw a 20 percent reduction in energy costs. The electricity bill was reduced from JMD $25,000 to JMD $5,000. Exports increased in 2019 by 10 percent; quality improvement were realized in the stored green beans, and more consistency was observed in the finished products. Members of staff gained knowledge on the efficient use of energy and control storage system.
In the medium-term Coffee Solutions saw a 15 percent increase in export sales and a 10 percent increase in revenue in 2019. The company was also able to retain its current employees, provide extended working hours for temporary employees and increased staff by 10 percent or 1 employee, because of the DAGS project. The installation of the new storage facility resulted in a 20 percent to 30 percent reduction in the cost of the company’s coffee beans; improvements in the quality of beans; and an increase in the length of time that the products can be stored.
Coffee Solutions also installed a photovoltaic energy system that generates an estimated 10 percent energy surplus which is sold into the national grid. The company now earns revenue through this system. The company has also seen a 110 percent reduction in energy costs/consumption because of the installation of the system.
The cost savings have enabled the company to restructure its pricing mechanism and offer small farmers lower prices for contract processing services. The coffee farmers in Jamaica, importantly, include women, who can now access more competitive rates for processing and thereby increase their profit margin.
In addition, the implementation of nine renewable energy system projects has reduced and, in a few cases, eliminated the use of energy generated from non-renewable sources. By using less non-renewable energy, the carbon footprints of small farmers in the industry have been equally reduced.
Jamaica is known for its Blue Mountain coffee and is the foremost producer of Coffee in the Caribbean outside of the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Coffee Arabica is thought to be indigenous to Abyssinia and was introduced into Arabia over one thousand years ago. It is also believed that in the early ages the Abyssinians went from Arabia to Abyssinia taking the seeds with them, in which case it would have originated in Arabia. Whether the origin be Arabia or Abyssinia, the Arabians must be given credit for discovering and promoting the use of the beverage and the propagation of the plant. It is believed that the first cultivation in Arabia dates back to A.D. 575.
Indian tradition credits BaBa Budan, a Moslem pilgrim to Mecca, with the introduction of coffee into Southern India about 1600. The area in which he settled is currently known as the Baba Budan hills and is still an important coffee producing area of Southern India.
In 1699, coffee was introduced into Java from India. Plants were taken from Java to Amsterdam in 1706 and eight years later the Paris Botanical Gardens secured seedlings from Amsterdam. In 1723, plants, the progeny of those in the Paris Botanical Gardens, were taken to Martinique by the French naval officer Gabriel Mathieu de Clieu. Of these, one plant survived, and from it Arabica coffee was established in Martinique. Its spread to the coffee producing areas of the Western Hemisphere followed rapidly.
In 1728, the Governor, Sir Nicholas Lawes, introduced coffee into Jamaica from Hispaniola, now Haiti, in the parish of St. Andrew. Natural conditions proved to be most favourable and the product was found to be of very high quality. Cultivation expanded rapidly and by 1800, 686 plantations were in operation. In 1814, exports totalled 15,199 tons. With the abolition of the slave trade in 1807, followed by the emancipation in 1838, the industry declined rapidly, due primarily to the lack of labour. By 1850, only 186 plantations were in operation and exports had fallen to 1,486 tons. During the last hundred years. The pattern of coffee being grown on a plantation scale has been changed and the industry has been maintained mainly by small holders.