On 19 November, I reported on the local coffee industry but didn’t give figures and I should give a likely correction as well. 19.11.2006 The Coffee report

Firstly, oil income has probably now displaced coffee as the primary source of export earnings.

Cooperative Cafe Timor is the biggest coffee producing entity in the country so the figures I have are from them. Delta coffee elected not to get involved in the 2006 harvest due to the security problems. I am unaware of what exporting Ensul coffee may or may not do.

As for CCT figures, the final figures for 2006 are :

• Production was 2300 tons which is down from over 3000 tons in 2005. Security issues were the main cause of a reduction and it is estimated production would have been around 3000 tons.
• Three critical weeks during harvest time were lost due to unrest.
• CCT employ around 700 to 900 workers (mostly women) at their dry processing facility in Akadera-hun in Dili, around 300 workers at their drying facility in Tibar and another 20 at their premises in Comorro.
• The delayed rains in the 2006/07 wet season will most likely lead to a reduction in the 2007 harvest to around 2500 tons.

Yesterday was the first significant rainfall of this year. I can recall about 3 separate heavy rains in December but so far, that has been it this wet season.