Coffee is indigenous to the highlands of Ethiopia and the Boma plateau in the Sudan. In both these areas coffee trees occur naturally at 1 300 - 1 800 metres above sea level. Today coffee is grown in some 80 countries in the world, e.g. South and Central America (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and El Salvador), Africa (Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Uganda, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe) and Asia (India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam).
PRODUCTION LEVELS AND AREA
SOUTH AFRICA
Total area under coffee = ± 200 hectare
Total production = 3 500 (60 Kg bags)
Production per hectare = 2 ton
Areas in South Africa where coffee is planted are in the following provinces:
Mpumalanga: Hazyview and Barberton
Limpopo: Bushbuck Ridge
Eastern Province: East London
KwaZulu-Natal: South and North Coast
UTILISATION
Due to its outstanding taste, Arabica coffee is mainly used for the filter coffee market.
Robusta coffee, Coffea canephora, is used for the instant coffee market. It has a neutral taste and is blended with chicory.
PRODUCTION GUIDELINES FOR COFFEE
Editors: T. Anderson & P.S. SchoemanSize: A5Price: R61
