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PETALING JAYA: Malaysians are drinking more coffee and loving it – so much so that we are ranked third in Asia Pacific with the biggest spike in coffee consumption.
Our coffee consumption has grown by 73%: from 344,783 bags of coffee beans in 2020, we finished up 597,064 in 2021.
This means Malaysia consumed an extra 252,281 bags of coffee beans, with each bag weighing 60kg.
Such a spike has led Malaysia to be ranked third among 58 countries in the region for the highest growth in coffee consumption in 2021, based on data from the International Coffee Organization (ICO).
South Korea and Australia were the top two countries ahead of Malaysia, according to the ICO, a body set up by the United Nations to strengthen the global coffee sector.
“South Korea, Australia and Malaysia were the top three drivers of the region’s 3.7% increase in coffee consumption in 2021.
“Together, the three countries added an extra 0.9 million bags of coffee consumption,” read an excerpt from the ICO’s Coffee Report and Outlook released in April this year.
Coffee beans are usually stored and transported in 60kg bags or gunny sacks, which are used worldwide as a standard measurement unit.
Cheers to the cup of joe
With International Coffee Day celebrated today (Oct 1), this aromatic beverage is much loved here in Malaysia, where people are gulping down more of it.
On average, every person in the country drank 52 cups of coffee in 2017.
But this number has more than doubled, or swelled by 105% to 107 cups per person a year in 2021.
This is based on an analysis by Sunday Star on the data from the ICO on coffee consumption and the country’s total population from the World Bank.
The number of cups are then calculated based on each cup using 10 grams of coffee.
According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, 10g of ground coffee is the proper measure to make one 180ml (6-ounce) cup of brewed coffee.
In the five years from 2017 to 2021, here’s how the total amount of coffee we have consumed in kilograms matches up to our population.
Locally grown coffee dwindles
But while coffee consumption is robust in Malaysia, the amount of homegrown coffee has been decreasing.
Data shared by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) has shown that our nation had produced over 23,000 tonnes of coffee in 2008, but this has gone down steadily as years went by.
“One of the main reasons why our local coffee production is decreasing is due to the decrease in total planted area with coffee,” says Mardi director-general Datuk Dr Mohamad Zabawi Abdul Ghani in an interview.
The total area planted with coffee had decreased by about 36% in the past 13 years from 3,538 ha in 2008 to 2,283 ha in 2021, based on the industrial crop statistics by the Agriculture Department.
“It’s expected to continue decreasing with many coffee smallholders opting to convert their coffee plantations into more lucrative crops such as palm oil or even durian,” foresees Mohamad Zabawi.
Another issue is that of unproductive coffee – only 66% of the total area planted with coffee is harvested, meaning that there are still areas without a successful harvest.
“Although the potential yield of coffee can reach up to 26 tonnes per hectare (t/ha), the average yield achieved by coffee farmers is only between 2.8 and 3.9 t/ha.
“Coffee productivity decreased from 6.52 t/ha in 2008 to 1.82 t/ha in 2022.
“This may be contributed by the planting of low-yielding coffee varieties and the minimal application of the recommended cultural practices for our local coffee production,” he adds.
Currently, up to 97% of the coffee we drink in Malaysia is imported to meet domestic demand.
The remaining 3% is from local production, of which Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin had described as a shortage that can be considered critical.
In 2021, Malaysia produced 4,150.5 tonnes of coffee, with most of it being from Johor.
The state contributed 75.3% of our nation’s locally grown coffee with 3,125.9 tonnes harvested, followed by Sabah (21.3%) and Sarawak (2.2%).
On a global scale, Malaysia was ranked 47th among the 79 coffee-producing countries in 2021, based on statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Brazil, Vietnam and Indonesia were the top three nations supplying the world’s cup of coffee, in that year.
A boost for local coffee
Nevertheless, Mardi is hopeful that our local coffee production will grow again in the next five years, as it works on giving it a much needed boost.
In June, Mardi released the production of three new Liberica coffee clones named MKL 8, MKL 9 and MKL 10, which are expected to be able to produce good quality coffee.
“The three new Liberica coffee clones are high yielding with an average yield of coffee berries of between 17 and 25 t/ha,” says Mohamad Zabawi.
It was reported that the institute is also actively conducting research in an effort to produce more coffee variants to meet demand following a shortage of local coffee beans.
Mohamad Zabawi says local coffee production is projected to reach up to 19,475 tonnes if the remaining unproductive coffee areas of 779 hectares are planted with these new Liberica coffee clones.
Such a number is around four times more than the national production for coffee of 4,150.5 tonnes in 2021.
“However, the productivity of any crop is influenced by many factors like the type of varieties used, soil and climate conditions.
“Since Liberica coffee trees will start producing their optimal yield after the fifth year of planting, our local coffee production is expected to increase in five years time,” he explains.
This will augur well as Mohamad Zabawi says the demand and consumption of coffee in Malaysia is expected to increase 2 to 3% annually.
“Our local coffee is beloved by Malaysians and foreigners alike because of its unique taste and flavour,” he adds.
As we hope for more homegrown coffee to be brewed, let’s learn more about the various types of coffee we can find at the cafe and our local coffee shops.
