With a strong coffee culture prevalent throughout the country, especially in Colombo, and with the third edition of the ‘Sri Lanka Coffee Festival’ imminent, it is essential to remember that Sri Lanka once had a glorious past as one of the top coffee exporters in the world.
In 1869, the first documented outbreak of coffee rust occurred in Sri Lanka. This disease spread worldwide from Sri Lanka to nearly all coffee-growing areas over the next several decades until 1985. By 1870, Sri Lanka had reached its peak coffee production, cultivating over 275,000 hectares of coffee plants while the local tea industry was in its infancy. The epidemic significantly devastated the thriving coffee plantations.
Emerging from its downfall, according to Export Development Board (EDB) statistics, Sri Lanka’s coffee cultivation collectively spanned 60,580 hectares of plantation in 2021 with three types of coffee – Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica), Robusta coffee (Coffea canephora), and Liberica coffee (Coffea liberica).
The question remains: can Ceylon coffee make a comeback in the global export market?
Promotion initiatives
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Lanka Coffee Association (LCA) Chairperson Kushan Samararatne addressed the potential of Ceylon coffee to make a comeback in the global export market. He highlighted that although Sri Lanka had once been the third largest coffee exporter in the world, things were now far removed from that scenario.
“Ceylon coffee can make a comeback in the global export market. Some samples we sent to the Melbourne International Coffee Expo scored exceptionally well when it came to coffee scores and everything else. Therefore, we have the capacity, although perhaps not in terms of volume as with commercial coffee, but more in terms of specialty coffee,” Samararatne stated.
He noted that the LCA’s primary focus was on industry promotion, which had led it to hold two coffee festivals in Sri Lanka. The festival has evolved into a prestigious event for coffee enthusiasts, professionals, and industry stakeholders. The third edition of the ‘Sri Lanka Coffee Festival’ and the ‘LCA Barista Championship’ will be held on 6 June. Samararatne added that the coffee festival was an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in coffee to get involved and for baristas to develop their skills.
“In terms of promoting Ceylon coffee, we have conducted barista competitions and several cafe events, many of which have been well received. However, they are not only about industry promotion; they also focus on understanding coffee, its value, and the importance of proper harvesting practices. All these factors must be brought together to get the final product out into the market,” Samararatne said.
The outcomes of the past two ‘Sri Lanka Coffee Festivals’ had been perfect, he noted. “We had many people interested in Sri Lankan coffee and they were a part of our discussions. It has more to do with creating a coffee conversation again in Sri Lanka, especially highlighting the fact that a coffee movement is happening quite aggressively in the country,” he said.
Addressing the specific opportunities and trends that could support a resurgence of Ceylon coffee in the global market, Samararatne said that the Department of Export Agriculture had been very aggressive in its focus on coffee in the past one-and-a-half years, which was a positive sign. In addition, he said that many industry promotions were in the process of being implemented.
“Considering that Sri Lanka was a coffee country back in the day, we obviously have the backstory and probably the required soil and weather conditions in order to return to where we used to be,” he said.
Focus on specialty coffee
However, he noted that a comeback would take at least three to five years. “The main reason is that a coffee plant planted today will take three years to provide a yield. We will not be able to compete in the global commercial coffee market against big players like Vietnam, Brazil, and Indonesia; we shouldn’t try to do so either. Since our labour is expensive, our volumes of production will be low, and we need the infrastructure sorted out for the whole process, including implementation.
“Therefore, we need to focus on specialty coffee where pricing is reasonable and volumes are manageable, and this is the area of focus I recommend if we are serious about exports,” Samararatne asserted.
However, he noted that the majority of coffee available in Sri Lanka at present was produced on a commercial scale, precluding our ability to compete in a global market with the current pricing and quality. Therefore, he stressed that it would take a minimum of three to five years for Sri Lanka to be able to return to the export market.
Fragmented agricultural sector
Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, Department of Export Agriculture Director (Development) R.K.W. Ranketh Kumbura highlighted that there were major challenges in the coffee plantation industry alongside a need for improvement, which must be addressed by the authorities with appropriate action taken.
He pointed out the primary drawback in any plantation in the country, including coffee: “The Sri Lankan agriculture industry is fragmented. It is not centralised. There are many small cultivations and therefore it is difficult to organise them and engage in proper processes, including marketing. The non-centralised system makes implementation difficult.”
On account of the small number of coffee plantations in the country, farmers need help to process their products appropriately.
“There are three categories of coffee plantations: small-scale, medium-scale, and large-scale. Currently, we do not see large-scale coffee cultivation. Only smaller-scale cultivation exists. With the aforementioned fragmentation in the agriculture industry, it is hard to move forward,” he pointed out.
A strategic path
EDB Chairman Dr. Kingsley Bernard noted that despite Ceylon coffee having potential, its volumes of production should be sufficient. “Currently, there are no extensive plantations. Coffee must be grown in proper plantations, so we must initiate production. However, quality could be a factor in Ceylon coffee making a comeback in the global export market,” he said.
Meanwhile, EDB Director of Export Agriculture Janak Sanjeewa Badugama pointed out that the demand for coffee had never decreased globally and that there was a consistently good demand. Although Sri Lanka has been focusing only on tea, the relevant authorities must tread a strategic path in developing and promoting the coffee industry.
“We have not recognised coffee as a commercial cultivation. Strategies need to be formulated and implemented in Sri Lanka to capture the global market,” Badugama asserted.
Addressing the challenges faced by Sri Lanka’s coffee industry, he said that the number of Ceylon coffee exporters was minimal and that there needed to be a proper initiation of exports by private and public partnerships. At present, there was a tendency for plantation industries and companies to look into developing coffee as a plantation using the required technology, he pointed out.
Initiatives by Export Agriculture Dept.
“The Department of Export Agriculture has already forwarded specific plans towards addressing this particular matter, which are now being processed. We will be having a discussion with certain funding agencies to develop a roadmap for coffee cultivation. We are yet to discuss the matter with the EDB, although we initially discussed it with funding agencies,” Badugama said.
“We need to look for niche markets, which requires us to focus on quality, i.e. specialty coffee, rather than coffee as a commodity. Now that the demand is there for the products, we need to improve our cultivation and processes. For instance, we can promote parallel cross-cultivation of both tea and coffee,” he said.
In addition, he said that there were many factors to be considered, including standards, quality requirements, and packaging requirements.
“We need to match our ratings and quality standards with international ratings, and only then can we obtain a higher price. If we proceed along the right path, Sri Lanka has the potential to make a comeback in the export market,” Badugama concluded.
According to EDB statistics, the global specialty coffee market is projected to reach over $ 80 billion by 2025, which offers enormous growth potential for coffee producers. In line with this increasing demand, Sri Lanka’s coffee exports have increased in recent years, growing 84% from 2017 to nearly $ 355,000 by 2019, allowing the country significant potential to position its coffee in the global market.