COFFEE AS A NICHE CROP FOR MID-HILLS OF

NEPAL

Ram Bahadur KC, Bhola Kumar Shrestha and Sanjay Dhimal

([email protected])

ABSTRACT
Coffee, the second largest commodity next to petroleum traded in the world market,
is produced in more than 100 countries. Brazil is the world leader in production
and America in consumption. Coffee, entered Nepal from Burma in 1938 has been
extended to about 41 districts in the mid-hills of Nepal with significant potential as
export commodity. It is a high value cash crop with environmental importance and
is being popular among Nepalese people since last few decades. More than 30,000
small growers have been involved in coffee cultivation in about 1911 ha with 429 tons
of green beans production in the year 2014. In line with the focus of periodic plans
and policies, the Ministry of Agricultural Development has taken ample initiatives
for the promotion of coffee cultivation. Thirteenth plan has also given attention for
development of coffee sector as high value crops in the mid-hill regions of Nepal.
Respecting the interest of the people on coffee and favorable climatic conditions for its
cultivation, development organisations like HELVETAS Nepal are complementing
to government organizations in coffee sub-sector development. In Nepal majority of
coffee is wet processed and considered better quality coffee. Nepali coffee possesses
specialty quality potential; have revealed 82-86 percent specialty quality, thus demand
outstrips supplies. Lack of manpower, research on technologies and varieties to increase
production and productivity, national policy and plans for promotion of organic and
fair trade practices are the areas to review for coffee sub-sector development in Nepal.

INTRODUCTION
Coffee is one of the prestigious soft drink. It is the second largest
commodity traded in the world market next to the petroleum product, and
producing in more than 100 countries. Being such high profile statistics
it is well-known by “Brown Gold” in the world community. Brazil is the
number one leading country in terms of production whereas USA is
higher coffee consuming country and per capita coffee consumption is
highest (12 kg/person/year) in Finland.
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 In 9th century, an Ethiopian shepherd discovered coffee when he
noticed his goats excited after eating the coffee beans. Thus, the origin
country of domesticated coffee plant is known as East Africa “Ethiopia”.
All coffee plants are classified in the botanical family Rubiaceae.
They are evergreen shrubs. Several species of shrub of the genus Coffea
produce the berries from which coffee can be extracted. There are four
species: arabica, robusta, excelsa and liberica. However, two main species
are commercially cultivated i.e., Coffea arabica and Coffea robusta. In
these two species of Coffea, the finest quality being arabica, which today
represents 70% of the world’s coffee production (www.coffea arabica
Wikipedia). All introduced and cultivated coffee cultivars in Nepal are
Coffea arabica which is regarded as Highland Himalayan special coffee.
Chemically, the caffeine content of C. arabica varies from 0.9 to 1.7% of
each bean’s volume (www. Coffea arabica Wikipedia).
Hira Giri, who is known as the pioneer of coffee introduction in
Nepal in 1938 AD (www.teacoffee.gov.np), brought few seeds of coffee
from Sindhu Province of Burma (Now Myanmar) through India and
planted in Aanpchaur, Gulmi. Thus, Gulmi stands for the first coffee
growing district in Nepal. Thereafter coffee extended as a curiosity plant
for about four decades.
In late Seventies, coffee commercialization got momentum to
some extent when Tinau watershed Programme planted coffee as soil
conservation crop in Palpa and Government of Nepal imported coffee
seeds from India for distribution to the farmers. In 1983/84, Nepal
Coffee Company (NeCCo) was established in Manigram, Rupandehi
district. This was the milestone to the coffee commercialization in
Nepal. Then, the coffee producers were able to sell their produce
to the company. Until early 2000, coffee producers were not sure of
coffee being a source of income or income generating crop due to the
market problem. However, after the year 2002, substantial increase in
the export and also increase in domestic market consumption to some
extent motivated coffee producers to consider coffee as a major income
generating crop (www.teacoffee.gov.np). At present Nepal’s coffee has
its own brand, due to organic produce and persist special taste, aroma
and flavor, it has own dignity in the world coffee consuming society. In
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Nepal, coffee is grown commercially in 24 districts amongst 41 potential
mid-hill districts.

IMPORTANCE
Coffee is playing very important role in Nepalese economy,
agriculture and environment. It is high value crops in terms of economy
and export status. Being imperishable commodity by nature, coffee can
be grown in remote areas by rural people in groups or cooperative model.
These activities definitely help to reduce rural poverty and increase
income of rural people and generate employment opportunities. The
importance of this crop is briefly discussed as follows:

Nutritional value
The primary chemical available in coffee beans is caffeine
“C8H10N4O2”, which is a special safe chemical that stimulate the
central nervous system (CNS). The coffee beverages are very popular;
in USA, 90% of adults consume coffee daily. A cup of coffee contains
80-175 mg of caffeine, depending on what “bean” (seed) is used and
how it is prepared (www.caffeine Wikipedia). It is reported that regular
consumption of black coffee reduces cholesterol level of blood and
persist antioxidant properties in coffee drink which has multiple positive
impact in human health. However, it depends on the physiology of an
individual.

Economic value
Coffee is planted on marginal uplands where single crop of maize
and in few cases second crop of millet planted. The study reported that
in comparison to maize and millet, net return from coffee cultivation
is 4.33 times higher than maize, 3.30 times higher than millet and 1.87
times higher than maize followed by millet cultivation (CoPP, 2009). In
Nepalese context, coffee plantation is under the shade of multipurpose
trees, which provides shade as well as their own produce. It can aid 10-
15% additional income (NTCDB, 2013).

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Employment opportunity
Coffee, as a perennial shrub, need series of work on production,
processing and marketing and requires a lot of technical and skilled
human resources. Coffee value chain starts form cherry picking to final
cup, which involves different steps such as picking/harvesting - pulping
- hulling - roasting - grinding - packaging - brewing etc. Every step
adds value. This contributes to employment opportunity and income
generation for rural youth and reduces labor migration.

Environmental benefit
Nepal is hilly region and topography of land in Nepal is too steep.
Nepalese hills are prone to land slide during monsoon (Paudel, 2009).
In steep slope, ever green vegetation like coffee plantation is very much
helpful for soil and environment conservation and ecological balance.
Coffee farming is done in the shade of trees, which provided natural
habitat for many animals and insects, roughly approximating the
biodiversity of a natural forest. Coffee plant is also bird friendly and
during flowering period it attracts the honey bees; good source of nectar.
It is a good source of oxygen (O2), which produces 37 kg of O2 per ha
per day (www.ico.org).

Import substitution and export promotion

It is rectified that Nepalese organic coffee can compete world
coffee market due to its premium quality. The demand for Nepalese
coffee is increasing at national and international market. Major portion
of Nepalese coffee is exported to more than 20 countries where Korea,
Japan, Europe and USA are the major ones (www.tepc.gov.np).

SCOPE OF COFFEE CULTIVATION IN NEPAL

Owing to the prevalence of unique microclimate and organic
produce, Nepalese coffee has classic quality: taste, aroma, and flavor,
which shows the high potential of coffee cultivation in Nepal. In the
context of comparative advantage and growing international demand of
specialty Nepali coffee, it is high time to consider commercialization of
this high value commodity from all sectors including government, donors,
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investors and coffee stakeholders. The scope of this crop examines in
this paper as follows.

Potential area and production

There are 41 potential districts in the mid-hill region of Nepal where
1.1 m.ha of land is potential for coffee (MoAD, NTCDB, 2014). Hills
have unique micro environment in very short vertical distance (Paudel,
2009). Such micro climate variation favors comparative advantage of
growing different niche base crops. Land may not be the limited resource
for coffee production in Nepal. Sloppy and marginal land somehow
degraded land; community forest also can be used for coffee plantation
by using soil amendment. Among total area of Nepal, mid-hill occupies
about 42 percent of land (MoAD, 2014) with altitude ranges from 800
to 1500 meter above mean sea level majority of which can be brought
under coffee cultivation. Present production is at 429 ton Green Bean
which can be increased by 1000 times.

Sustainable farming
Climate change is another new challenge to the sustainable farming
system in the mid-hills. Ever green shrub like coffee plantation could be
the best option for mitigation and adaptation activity. Coffee growing and
processing needs water, which can be managed properly in mid-hills of
Nepal. Being imperishable commodity, people from remote area can also
grow coffee in groups or cooperative model and coffee cooperatives are
taking lead throughout the value chain of coffee with fair trade principle.

Specialty quality
Coffee in Nepal is grown in altitude ranges from 800-1500m msl
for specialty highland coffee. Being grown in hilly region, away from
the Mediterranean region; it possesses specialty quality different to other
major coffee growing countries. Nepali coffee offers specialty taste to
the consumers because it is Arabica only, grown with organic practice
under shade above 800 m from mean sea level.

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Organic and fair trade
Organic and fair trade coffee has high demand at both national and
international markets, for which Nepal has high scope/ potential because
100 % of Nepali coffee is considered as by default organic and many of
the cooperatives have practices fair trade principle.

Youth employment
Coffee involves several activities from seed to cup. Farmers’
involvement in planting to cherry harvest, pulping and preparation of
Parchment is followed by, traders’ involvement in trading of parchment
or green beans, coffee roasting, grinding and brewing imply scores of
business. These series of value chain process definitely requires different
human and financial resources, which in due course create employment
opportunities to Nepalese youth.

Agro-tourism
Different distinctive features of mid-hills of Nepal like famous
Annapurna trekking route, habitat of diverse ethnic and tribal
communities, availability of different flora and fauna make them a very
potential domain for agro-tourism. Like tea garden in Eastern Nepal,
coffee plantation in Central and Western hills can promote tourism
industry by catching the attention of domestic as well as foreign tourists
from different countries visiting to Nepal.

Organized institutions
Good and well setup organizational structures also help in coffee
promotion in Nepal. Ministry of Agricultural Development (MoAD),
NARC, National Coffee Producer Association (NCPA) and different
private sectors/INGOs like Coffee Promotion Programme, HELVETAS
Swiss Inter cooperation Nepal (CoPP), IDE, Winrock International,
Good Neighbor International, JICA are involved in production and
trading, which eventually continue their support in coffee sub-sector
development.

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DEVELOPMENT OF COFFEE SUB-SECTOR IN NEPAL
To coordinate the coffee development in the
country, Government of Nepal (GoN) established
Tea and Coffee Development Section under Fruit
Development Directorate of the Department of
Agriculture in 1993. Likewise, National Tea and
Coffee Development Board was also established
under the National Tea and Coffee Development
Board Act (1993). Some INGOs like Coffee Figure 1: Nepal
Promotion Programme, HELVETAS Swiss Coffee Logo
Intercooperation Nepal (CoPP) is supporting the
coffee farmers since 2003 in 12 districts. Similarly, JICA, IDE, Winrock
International, Good Neighbor International are also supporting in coffee
sub-sector development. As a genuine process of promoting Nepalese
coffee, the GoN has approved Nepali Coffee Logo (Figure 1). Brief
historical events of the development in the coffee sub-sector are listed
in Table 1. Considering the prominence of high value crops, GoN has
promulgated/ formulated some agricultural policies, and plans for the
promotion of production, processing and marketing of high value crops
including coffee.

Policies, Plans and Programs for promoting Coffee

Some of the policies that have emphasized promotion of coffee are
as follows.
Agriculture Perspective Plan(APP) (1994/95-2014/15) recognised
coffee as potential high value and exportable commodity. It was further
emphasised in the Ninth Five Year Plan (1997-2002). Tenth Five Year Plan
(2002-2007) targeted to increase the production of coffee and focused
on production support on coffee and started to give 50% subsidy on the
samplings (NPC, 2002). The Coffee Policy, 2004 paved the way of coffee
sub-sector involving the private sectors, NGOs, cooperatives and other
members based organizations for promoting the production, processing
and marketing of coffee in a sustainable and organized way. The policy
has emphasised import substitution and export (MoAD, 2004).National
Agricultural Policy (NAP), 2006highlighted significantly for fostering
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coffee as high value crops in the mid-hill regions.Agricultural Biodiversity
Policy, 2007organic production like coffee (MoAD, 2006).Agri-Business
Promotion Policy (ABPP), 2007 stated need for developing the organic
certification of the products, including coffee.
National Technical Standard for Organic Agriculture System
(NTSOAS), 2008further cleared the way for promoting the organic
production and processing of high value agricultural products like coffee.
Three Years Interim Plan (2007-2010)included the coffee, among
other 22 valuable commodities, as a priority commodity for income
generation. Three Years Plan (2010-2013)emphasized mid-hill areas
for the promotion of coffee production and gave importance for the
conversion of Nepalese coffee into Highland Organic Coffee. This
plan included support for the value chain development, technology
transfer, agri-market information system development and agriculture
entrepreneurships expansion for coffee and coffee export facilitation as
well. Thirteenth Plan (2013-2016) gave attention for development of
coffee sub-sector as high value crops in the mid-hill regions.

Table 1: Chronological history of coffee research and

development in Nepal
Year Event
1938 First time introduction of coffee in Aanpchaur, Gulmi, Nepal.
HMG/Nepal introduced some varieties from India and distributed to the
1968
farmers of Gulmi, Palpa and Arghakhanchi.
1981 First commercial coffee nursery established in Aanpchaur, Gulmi.
Tinau Watershed Project (TWP) and Palpa Development Project (PDP)
1982
planted coffee as soil conservation crop in Palpa.
Nepal Coffee Company (NeCCO), first coffee mill in Nepal, established
1983
in Manigram, Rupandehi.
1984 Establishment of Coffee Development Centre in Aanpchaur, Gulmi.
1989 Initiation of organic coffee production in Madanpokhara, Palpla.
1990 Formation of Coffee Producers Group in Madanpokhara, Palpa.
1991 Registration of Nepal Coffee Producers Association in Palpa.

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 Year Event
Establishment of Tea and Coffee Development Section under Fruit De-
velopment Directorate of the Department of Agriculture.
1993
Establishment of National Tea and Coffee Development Board under the
National Tea and Coffee Development Board Act, 1993.
1994 First recorded export of green beans (dry processed) to Japan.
Establishment of Regional office of NTCDB in Palpa.
1995 Coffee Varietal Evaluation in ARS (Hort.) Malepatan by Lumle Agricul-
ture Research Center, Kaski.
Local Initiatives Support Programme (LISP) extended coffee through
Nepal Coffee Producers Association (NCPA) in Palpa.
1996
Organic Certification of coffee under District Cooperative Federation,
Gulmi.
First training on organic coffee production organized by LISP, HELVE-
TAS and FtF Program, Winrock International at Madanpokhara, Palpa.
Formation of Central Committee of Nepal Coffee Producers Association
(NCPA).
1998
HELVETAS Swiss Inter cooperation Nepal/ Winrock International
introduced and distributed coffee varieties (Pacas, Pacamara, Tekisic, Keti-
sic) in different farms and stations.
Registration of Nepal Coffee Producers Association at National Level.
SSMP in collaboration with NCPA initiated coffee related activities in
Syangja, Parbat, Kavre and Sindhupalchowk.
1999
Introduction of wet processing technology (11 pulpers from India) by
AEC to introduce wet processing in Nepal.
2000 Establishment of Highland Coffee Promotion Company in Kathmandu.
Initiation of coffee FFS in Palpa, Parbat, Syangja, Kavre and
2002
Sindhupalchowk (LISP/NCPA)
Coffee Promotion Program initiated by CoPP, HELVETAS.
First time NTCDB fixed dry cherry price based on the quality (three
2003 grades) of dry cherries.
Introduction of wooden Hand Pulper from Indonesia by Holland Coffee
Inc.

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 Year Event
National Coffee Policy implemented.
NARC, DOA, Nepal Tree Crop Global Development Alliance initiated
coffee study in Panchkhal farm, Kavre.
2004
Tea and Coffee Development Section was reorganized into Coffee and
Tea Development Section with increased program thrust on coffee and
additional manpower.
Central Coffee Cooperative Union established.
Agriculture Research Station (Hort.) and National Tea and Coffee Devel-
2005 opment Board started organic manure experiment.
First training on Internal Control System (ICS) and Internal Inspection
conducted at Gulmi by CoPP, HELVETAS
Nepal Coffee Logo approved by the Government of Nepal.
2010 Establishment of Field Gene Bank of coffee in ARS (Hort.), Malepatan,
Kaski.
2014 Establishment of Coffee Research Program in Baletaxar, Gulmi.

PRESENT STATUS OF COFFEE IN NEPAL

Coffee Varieties and Nursery
There are two main varieties of coffee
being cultivated i.e., Arabica (C. arabica) and
Robusta (C. canephora). Of the two main
species, Arabica coffee is grown at higher
elevations, produces better beans and has
good quality. So, at present only this variety
is cultivated in Nepal and is being preferred
because of its quality. A number of varieties Figure 2: Coffee Nursery
of Arabica coffee has been collected and
planted in the Horticultural Research Station, Malepatan, Pokhara. But
locally collected materials have not been analyzed at molecular level.
Different varieties and their characteristic features are presented in the
Table 2.
Arabica coffee is most commonly grown from selected seed
to raise seedlings in nurseries. A number of steps are being followed

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for production of good seedlings i.e., selection the seed, starting the
nursery, build nursery shelter and seedbeds, and finally planting the seed.
Depending on temperature, coffee seedlings are ready to be transplanted
from the nursery bed into poly-bags about two to three months after
sowing following some steps in the process i.e., preparing the potting
mixture, selecting the seedlings, planting seedlings in bags and caring for
the seedlings (Figure 2).

Table 2: Coffee varieties and their major phenotypic

characteristics
SN Varieties Major qualitative and quantitative characteristics

Collected from Arghakhanchi district in 2010, trees

Arghakhanchi are tall, new shoots are green whereas ripe cherries
1.
Local are red in color, very good performance in mid hill
condition, 100 fresh ripe cherries weight is 150 gram.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
2. Bourbon Amarillo ripe cherries are yellow in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 136 gram.
Trees are tall, new shoots are copper color whereas
Bourbon
3. ripe cherries are red. 100 fresh ripe cherries weight is
Vermello
148 gram.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
4. Cattuai Amarillo ripe cherries are yellow in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 150 gram.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
5. Cattuai Vermelo ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe cherries
weight is 128 gram.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
6. CatturaAmarillo ripe cherries are yellow in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 150 gram.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
7. Cattura Vermello ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe cherries
weight is 146 gram.

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SN Varieties Major qualitative and quantitative characteristics
Hybrid cultivar (Catimore X Timor) developed in
Brazil. Robusta gene also incorporates in this cultivar
8. Catimore (NTCDB, 2013). Trees are medium tall, new shoots
are green whereas ripe cherries are red in color. 100
fresh ripe cherries weight is 148 gram.
Collected from Deep, Kaski district. Trees are
medium tall, new shoots are green whereas ripe
9. Chhetradeep
cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe cherries weight
is 148 gram. Very good perform in mid hill condition.
Trees are tall, open type tree, new shoots are copper
10. Hawai Kona color and ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 150 gram.
Trees are tall, open type tree; new shoots are copper
11. Indonesia color whereas ripe cherries are red. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 146 gram.
Collected from Puranchaur, Kaski district. Trees
12. Indo Timtim are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas ripe
cherries are red in color.
Trees are tall, open type tree; new shoots are green
13. Kaski Local whereas ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 152 gram.
Selected from Catimore cultivar in El-Salvador. Trees
are tall and open type tree, new shoots are copper in
14. Ketisic
color and ripe cherries red. 100 fresh ripe cherries
weight is 120 gram.
Trees are tall, open type tree; new shoots are green
15. Mundo Novo whereas ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe
cherries weight is 112 gram.
This cultivar was developed through natural mutation
from cultivar Bourbon. Trees are medium tall, dense
tree and leaves are long, wide and shiny. New shoots
16. Pacas are copper color whereas ripe cherries are red and
large in size. Very late maturing (March/ April) in
Pokhara condition. 100 fresh ripe cherries weight is
recorded 176 gram.

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 SN Varieties Major qualitative and quantitative characteristics
This cultivar was developed through crossing up to
four progeny between Pacas and Redmaragojipka
in El-salvador. Trees are medium tall dense tree and
17. Pacamara leaves are long, wide and shiny and new shoots are
copper color whereas ripe cherries are red and large
in size. Very late maturing (March/April) in Pokhara
condition. 100 fresh ripe cherries weights is 247 gram.
Collected from Puranchaur, Kaski district. Trees are
18. Puranchaur Local tall, new shoots are green whereas ripe cherries are
red in color.
Collected from Coffee Development Center
Aanpchaur, Gulmi in 2012. Trees are dwarf and open
19. Sanroman type cultivar. Young shoots are copper color whereas
ripe cherries are red. Useful for high density planting
system. Ripe cherries are red in color.
Cultivar developed by crossed among Cattura X other
arabica varieties in India (NTCDB, 2013). Trees are
tall and open type tree with long branches with long
20. Selection-10 internodes. New shoots are copper color whereas ripe
cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe cherries weight
is 148 gram. Very good perform in western mid- hill
condition.
Collected from Karendanda, Syangja district in 2004.
Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas
21. Syangja Special
ripe cherries are red in color. 100 fresh ripe cherries
weight is 151 gram.
This cultivar was developed from mass selection
procedure in El Salvador during 1949-1957. Trees are
22. Tekisic tall, new shoots are green whereas ripe cherries are
red in color. Very good perform in western mid-hill
condition. 100 fresh ripe cherries weight 146 gram.

Trees are medium tall, new shoots are green whereas

ripe cherries are yellow in color. 100 fresh ripe
23. Yellow Cattura
cherries weight 118 gram. Very good perform in
western mid-hill condition.
Source: KC, R.B. 2014.

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Coffee Farming
Nepal produces coffee in one of
the highest elevation in the world. Coffee
farming in Nepal is proven as promising
due to the availability of soil with
appropriate climate in the mid-hills at an
altitude of 1000 meter and above where
these areas get fresh and cool wind from
Himalayas that is suitable for high grown
Figure 3: Coffee orchard
specialty coffee. There are procedures
which are followed in farm management i.e., preparing the land, planting
windbreaks, marking out the rows, establishing shade trees. To achieve
high yields of quality coffee, trees are protected from frost, weeds are
controlled, plants are mulched and watered. Pruning is done to supply
good healthy wood for the next season’s crop, maintain the correct
balance between leaf area and crop, prevent overbearing and dieback,
reduce biennial bearing and maintain good tree shape. The plant can
tolerate low temperatures, but not frost, and does best with an average
temperature between 15 and 24 °C (Figure 3).

Coffee Production
Coffee is commercially produced in many parts of the country. At
present, there are altogether 24 districts growing coffee commercially.
The major coffee growing districts, where considerable amount of
coffee is being traded, lie in Central and Western Development Regions
namely Gulmi, Palpa, Arghakhanchi, Baglung, Syangja, Parbat, Kaski,
Lamjung, Gorkha and Tanahu in the Western Region and Lalitpur,
Sindhupalchowk, Kavre, Dhading, Nuwakot and Ramechhap in Central
Development Region.
Most of the coffee producers grow coffee in small scale with 100-
150 plants.Insome districts farmers have grown coffee in maximum of
0.4 hectare areas. Besides area coverage and production, the productivity
of Nepalese coffee is also comparatively lower than the productivity of
other countries.
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 In the fiscal year 2013/14, total area under coffee cultivation was
1911 hectares with total production of 429 MT Green Beans and 30,543
local farmers (Table 3) were engaged in this sector (MoAD, 2014).

Table 3: District-wise plantation area, production and yield of

coffee, 2013/14
Green beans
S. Area Yield Farmers
Districts production
No. (ha) (kg/ha) (No.)
(MT)
1. Syangja 262 45.3 173 3,110
2. Kavre 155 36.0 232 3,200
3. Gulmi 143 36.4 255 1,760
4. Nuwakot 136 31.5 232 1,173
5. Kaski 122 28.0 230 4,000
6. Lalitpur 120 31.5 263 975
7. Arghakhanchi 110 25.0 227 1,600
8. Lamjung 110 16.0 145 1,300
9. Palpa 100 24.2 242 2,250
10. Sindhupalchowk 96 28.5 297 1,535
11. Parbat 75 11.5 153 1,875
12. Dhading 60 15.0 250 700
13. Baglung 55 13.0 236 1,330
14. Ilam 52 16 308 600
15. Panchthar 40 10 250 415
16. Rasuwa 38 5.5 145 350
17. Gorkha 35 7.0 200 700
18. Tanahu 27 16 145 1,300
19. Makwanpur 26 9.5 365 800
20. Myagdi 25 6 240 470
21. Sankhuwasabha 25 5.0 200 355
22. Pyuthan 22 7 318 400
23. Khotang 15 4 267 250
24. Bhojpur 9 2 222 145
25. Other 15 districts 53 11.5 217 650
Total 1,911 429.4 225 30,543
Source: MoAD, 2014

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 As per official statistics, the area under coffee was 136 ha in 1994/95
which increased to 1911 ha in 2013/14 (Table 4). Similarly, the production
of coffee increased several times since then (NTCDB/ MoAD, 2014).

Table 4: Coffee plantation area, production and yield in Nepal

on different years
Coffee Coffee Production (kg)
S. Fiscal Yield (kg/
Plantation Dry Dry Green
No. Year ha)
Area (ha) Cherry Parchment Beans
1. 1994/95 136 12950 95
2. 1995/96 220 29200 133
3. 1996/97 259 37350 144
4. 1997/98 272 55900 205
5. 1998/99 277 44500 161
6. 1999/00 314 72400 230
7. 2000/01 424 88700 209
8. 2001/02 596 139200 234
9. 2002/03 764 187500 245
10. 2003/04 952 217500 228
11. 2004/05 1078 250000 232
12. 2005/06 1285 391000 304
13. 2006/07 1296 270000 208
14. 2007/08 1450 265000 183
15. 2008/09 1531 334000 218
16. 2009/10 1630 429000 263
17. 2010/11 1752 401500 229
18. 2011/12 1760 410000 233
19. 2012/13 1750 366000 209
20. 2013/14 1911 429400 225
Source: NTCDB, Nepal. MOAD, 2014

Coffee Harvesting
Harvesting of coffee is usually done once in a year. The time
varies according to geographic zone but in Nepal harvesting starts in
November and completes in March. Harvesting is done selective picking
by hand (Figure 4) when about 5% of the cherry ripe and is termed as
fly picking. And main picking starts after 50 % of the cherry gets ripe.
Selective picking is done in Nepal which helps in maintaining high quality
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of coffee.

Coffee Processing
Coffee cherries are processed
immediately after harvest. There are
mainly two types of processing in
practice: (a) Dry-Process, (b) Wet-
Process.
(a) Dry-Process: It consists of
drying selected cherries in the sun Figure 4: Picking of ripe cherry
until the moisture comes down to 11
percent. The dry-process (also known as the natural method) produces
coffee that is heavy in body, sweet, smooth, and complex.
(b) Wet-Process: This is a relatively new method of removing the
four layers surrounding the coffee bean. This process results in a coffee
that is cleaner, brighter, and fruitier. This method consists of following
steps:
(b1) Pulping Coffee: In this step, coffee cherries are dipped in the
water which is kept in a bucket. Undeveloped
coffee cherries, sticks and leaves, float in
water, are removed. The matured and good
cherries sink in the water. Pulping should be
done within 12 hours of harvest. It prepares
parchment (Figure 5).
(b2) Fermentation and Washing: The
Parchment is covered with the slippery
mucilage. Fermentation is done for 12-48
hours depending on the water temperature
and humidity to remove the mucilage.
Fermentation should be done in nonmetallic Figure 5: Pulping ripe
container like plastic, wooden bucket. Then cherry
the parchment is washed in clean water until the mucilage is completely
removed.
(b3) Coffee Drying: Washed coffee parchment of about 60%
moisture is moved to pre-drying net. It can be made up of bamboo mat
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or steel wire mesh. Until the water is drained, the parchments are moved
to drying yard /patios and dried in the sun to 11-12% moisture content.

Hulling
Dry parchment is hulled in a hulling machine which removes silver-
skin and prepares Green bean.

Sorting Coffee Beans

Color sorting is frequently used to
remove the defective coffee beans that were
not removed during coffee processing or
hulling (Figure 6).

Storing Green Coffee Beans

Coffee must be stored in dry and cool
conditions. Exposure to the sun or moisture Figure 6: Sorting coffee
beans
will rapidly deteriorate the coffee. Burlap or
jute bags are often used for coffee bean storage because they allow air
flow. They also preserve the coffee longer than plastic or paper bags.
Burlap bags should be aired on the patios before storing coffee to prevent
a baggy flavor or burlap scent from being imparted to the coffee.

Coffee Roasting   
Coffee roasting is a process which creates or
balances the aroma, acidity, aftertaste, bodyand
other flavour components. Roasting at local level
can be done in a ceramic pot or fry pan in a mild
and constant heat. Roasting is generally done at
three levels depending upon the personal taste
and of choice: light, medium and dark. It should
be done until the beans take on an oily sheen
(Figure 7). Figure 7:Roaster

Grinding Coffee Beans

For proper extraction, it is essential to grind coffee properly. Freshly
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grinding the beans before brewing coffee is one of
the most important steps for achieving a quality cup
of coffee. Coffee grind just before brewing gives
better taste. Grinding coffee depends on coffee
brewing method:
Drip coffee requires a medium size grind,
espresso requires a fine size grind, and a French
press requires the largest grind size while the Figure 8: Grinder
vacuum pot also requires the largest grind size.
At household level, a small hand operated grinder can be useful to
meet the need at the household level (Figure 8).

Coffee Brewing
Brewing coffee is as much of an art and methods of brewing are
culturally dependent. Some of the common brewing methods are:
Espresso: It is a strong decoction of coffee with a full-flavored,
concentrated form of coffee. It is made by forcing pressurized, hot water
through very finely grind coffee beans (Figure 9). This process is called
“pulling a shot.”
Café Americano: Café Americano is a type of coffee created by
adding hot water to espresso (Figure 10).
Coffee Latte: Latte is a coffee based drink made primarily from
espresso and steamed milk. It consists of one-third espresso, two-third
heated milk and about 1 cm of foam (Figure 11).

Figure 9: Espresso Figure 10: Café Figure 11: Latte

Americano
Coffee Marketing
Nepalese Highland and organic coffee is known in the international
markets owing to its high quality cupping and sound aroma (Poudel
et al., 2009). Around 25 percent of the production is exported. Sales in
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the domestic market are also increasing and the present sale is about
75% of the total production. There are about six to eight companies
including cooperatives exporting coffee to different destinations. Nepal
is exporting coffee beans mostly to Korea, Japan, America and European
countries. This has been extended to other parts of the world, too. The
data shows (Table 5) that in recent years export volume is decreasing,
which indicates that the national consumption is increasing. Likewise
import, in terms of value, is also in decreasing trend which helps in
balancing trade deficit (NTCDB, 2014).

Table 5: Coffee export and import on different years

S. Exports (Green Beans) Imports
Fiscal Year
No. Quantity (kg) Value (Rs. '000) (Rs. '000)
1. 1994/95 14660 1643 18232
2. 1995/96 5040 638 23832
3. 1996/97 4245 6023 15316
4. 1997/98 2000 318 16264
5. 1998/99 3160 634 32471
6. 1999/00 4254 1415 36437
7. 2000/01 3677 673 43200
8. 2001/02 9075 2455 4621
9. 2002/03 16861 5205 142
10. 2003/04 24295 5947 410
11. 2004/05 35677 10792 168
12. 2005/06 91500 27678 2265
13. 2006/07 100180 40117 56000
14. 2007/08 54621 22046 64481
15. 2008/09 508592 125108 11651
16. 2009/10 69044 24363 54400
17. 2010/11 279762 93089 12513
18. 2011/12 109442 43095 20894
19. 2012/13 99303 53009 32771
20. 2013/14 66461 52395 34816
Source: NTCDB, Nepal, MoAD, 2014.

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Major Stakeholders
Nepal Coffee Producers’ Association (NCPA) record shows that
more than 30,000 farmers are cultivating coffee in Nepal. Apart from
coffee growers there are several individual and organizations involved in
coffee processing, trading and export. Of the eleven institutions involved
in coffee processing and trade, two are cooperatives and remaining 9 are
registered as companies. Four of them supply to domestic market and
to exporters while six of them export coffee in addition to supply to
domestic markets. A list of registered coffee processor and traders can
be found in Annex 1.

OPPORTUNITIES
• High quality coffee can be produced in Nepal;
• There is increasing trend in consumption both at national and
international market;
• It generates significant income for farm household (upland);
• Organic production methods are compatible with existing farming
practices (No yield reduction in conversion);
• There is easy integration of coffee into existing farming systems;
• Coffee producers are organized at village, district and central level;
• Trade relationships are established with international buyers, long
term trading relationships with Fair Trade buyers in Europe / Korea;
• Several certifying agencies are active in Nepal;
• There is strong organizational setup;
• Many stakeholders like producer groups/associations, processor/
traders, INGOs/NGOs, GOs, World Bank are involved in organic
coffee promotion;
• National Organic Standard have been developed and approved by
GoN;
• Government funds are available for external inspection and organic
certification.
• Nepal coffee logo is approved and awarded to three processors/
traders.

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ISSUES AND CHALLENGES
• Identification of location specific high yielding varieties: There
is Lack of varietal option for different elevation. Although some
research has initiated, high yielding domain specific coffee cultivars
still not been recommended and released.
• Biotic/aboitic stresses: Even if several insect species have been
recorded, Xylotrechus quadripes (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), the
coffee white stem borer is the most serious pest of arabica coffee
in Nepal (Bajracharya, A.S.R., 2015). Low soil fertility and moisture
stress during summer are the major yield limiting abiotic factors.
• Poor technical know-how: There is lack of trained human resources.
Both production and post-production technical know-how is
extremely lacking among the coffee producers.
• Demand surpass production: Present production of 429 ton has
not been meeting the demand of about 6000 ton of coffee beans in
the domestic and international arena.
• Quality inconsistency: At processing levels due to poor infrastructure
like water, pulping centers, and storage facilities, the quality of coffee
is inconsistent.
• Change in consumption pattern: The instant coffee has occupied
the taste of coffee among the people. There is the challenges to
ascertain the taste of Nepalese filter coffee as a substitute of instant
coffee.

WAY FORWARD
• Promotion of coffee shops and consumption of Nepali filter coffee.
• Develop and establish systems to ensure the reputation of Nepali
coffee in international speciality markets (Nepal coffee logo).
• Enhance the processing practices with quality consistency.
• Strengthen research throughout the value chain (seed to cup).
• Enhance area, production and productivity to meet the increasing
demand.
• Increase collaborative approach/efforts of all the stakeholders
involved in coffee sub-sector.
• Promotion of organic and fair trade practices all levels of value
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 chain.
• Clarity of roles and responsibilities of the stakeholders.
• Deployment of right man to right position.
• Develop human resource on coffee sub-sector.

REFERENCES
ABSD. 2013/14. Statistical Information on Nepalese Agriculture,
GoN/MoAD. Agri-Business and Statical Division, Singh Durbar,
Kathmandu.
Bajracharya, A.S.R., Y.P.Giri, S. Bista, R. P. Mainali. 2015. Coffee
Promotion Strategies Focusing on White Stem Borer Management
in Nepal. Organized by Entomology Division, NARC in Technical
Collaboration with USAID funded Asia Farmer to Farmer program,
Winrock International.
Coffee Promotion Program 2011. Annual Plan 2011. CoPP, Helvetas,
Kathmandu.
Coffee Promotion Program 2010. Annual Report 2010. CoPP, Helvetas,
Kathmandu.
KC, R. B. 2014. Bagwanika Unnat Prabidhiharu. Nepal Agricultural
Research Council. Agriculture Research Station, Malepatan, Pokhara.
NTCDB 2013. Prangarik Coffee Sahyogi Pustika. National Tea and Coffee
Development Board, New Baneswor, Kathmandu.
Paudel, M.N. 2009. Prospect and Limitation of Hill Agriculture System
in Nepal. Proceeding of Regional Workshop on Hill Agriculture
in SAARC countries: Constraints and Oppertunities. SAARC
Agriculture Center, BARC Complex, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Paudyal, K.R. 2011. Review of the Coffee Sub-Sector in Nepal.
Proceeding of National Workshop on Coffee Sub-Sector. PACT,
Kathmandu, Nepal.
Tiwari, K.P. 2010. Agricultural Policy Review for Coffee Promotion in
Nepal. The Journal of Agriculture and Environment, Vol:11, June
2010.
www.coffee Wikipedia.
www.coffea arabica Wikipedia.
www.caffeine Wikipedia.
208
 www.coffee Encyclopedia.
www.coffeeresearch.org/coffee/history.htm
www.ico.org
www.nationalgeographic.com/coffee/frame.html
www.teacoffee.gov.np.
www.tepc.gov.np

Annex1: Major Coffee Processors and Traders of Nepal

S.
Processor/Traders Brand Name Market
No.
Jalpa Gold (for
Plantec Nepal Incorporated (P) regional sales) and Export and
1. Ltd., Kathmandu, Nepal. URL: Mount Everest Domestic (Roaster)
www.plantecnepal.com Supreme (for export)
District Cooperative Federation Gulmi Organic Export and
2. Ltd., Coffee Purification Centre, Coffee Domestic (Roaster)
Johang, Gulmi
Royal Everest Coffee Mills, Export and
3. Keshar Mahal, Kathmandu, Everest Filter Coffee Domestic (Roaster
Nepal and Brewer)
Highland Coffee Promotion Co.
Ltd., Narephant, Koteshwor, Export and
4. Him Café
GPO Box: 21037, Kathmandu, Domestic (Roaster)
Nepal
Buddha Organic Coffee Buddha Organic Export and
5. Industries P. Ltd., Kirtipur-2, Coffee Domestic (Roaster)
Kathmandu, Nepal
Kathmandu International
6. Coffee House, Himalayan Java, Himalayan Java Domestic (Brewer)
Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal Organic Coffee Products, Domestic (Roaster
7. Morning Fresh
Madanpokhara, Palpa, Nepal and Brewer)
High Mountain Organic Coffee
8. (P) Ltd., Bhaisepati, Saibu-3, Organic Coffee Domestic (Roaster)
Lalitpur, Nepal
Shiva Agro Tourism Private Ltd.,
9. Himal Coffee Domestic (Roaster)
Pokhara, Nepal
Gaurishankar Organic Coffee Roaster and
10. Gaurishankar Coffee
Industry, Panchkhal, Kavre Brewer
Coffee Cooperative Union, Lalitpur coffee, Jureli Export and
11. Lalitpur coffee Domestic (Roaster)
Source: Office record of Coffee Promotion Program, Helvetas, Nepal

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