A study case on coffee (Coffea arabica): Limu Coffe - IRD

Dried coffee
within its
husk 98
99
Husk
Husk + beans
Green beans
Woman trader 1 8 birr/kg 11 birr/kg
12 birr/kg 100
16 birr/kg
Woman trader 2 1 birr/kg
Woman trader 3 30 birr/kg
Woman trader 4 27 birr/kg
Woman trader 5
Farmer
8 birr/kg 11 birr/kg
Prices are translated into kg values, but coffee sold gets weight on glasses. Indeed one
glass is the basic unit, as well as glass weights differ from the coffee form and transformation
degree (beans are heavier than husk, and proportions differ in husk + beans coffee for
example). Husk coffee is the exception and gets sold in bowls that serve as basic units:
Husk Husk + beans Green beans
Woman trader 1 125 g/glass 180 g/glass
250 g/glass
250 g/glass
Woman trader 2 250 g/bowl
Seka market woman 200 g/bowl (10
trader
cent/bowl)
Both tables: Limu Limu Genet and Seka coffee price on market days 28 th 29 th August 2009 (prod:
Bossolasco, 2009)
There is no coherence in price formation. Prices depend on the woman trader supplier
(increasingly quoted: own trees, neighbours and farmers, sebsabies, akhrabies). They are not
informed on coffee price levels; they have an idea only if they bought their coffee to
akhrabies or sebsabies. But, most of time, prices depend on their cash needs.
Few farmers also sell their dried coffee with husk to Genet market according to their
cash needs. They often firstly sell red cherries to pulperies or dried cherries to sebsabies,
while they keep a coffee part due to defects (not picked on time, bad odour, etc.). Then they
sell this coffee to local markets between December and August. As explained me one of those
farmers, strategies could differ: “In high yielding years, I sell my coffee to pulperies and keep
98 Not yet transformed. Women traders buy coffee under this appearance, locally called janfal.
99 Husk coffee is said the poor man’s coffee (not as French meaning), and some say it provokes cancers.
100 There are different qualities of husk + beans according to the proportion of beans. The more there are beans
the highest is the price. There are also different qualities of husk according to its freshness: the less the husks are
fresh, blacker they turn whereas fresh ones are brightly brown.
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