The Coffee Industry Board (CIB) has stepped up its policing of illicit or unapproved coffee exports, and has issued to all post offices and couriers a list of dealers who are licensed to trade the product overseas.

"If the shipment is five kilograms or more, the roasted coffee has to be sent to the CIB for certification. Green beans can only be shipped if it has been tested and certified by the CIB," said CIB head, Christopher Gentles.

"Misrepresentation of any luxury product can cause severe loss to the reputation of the product. This will cause customers to be turned off, even when the genuine product is available," Gentles warned.

The CIB has formally requested of international couriers and the postal service that they check for approved exporters against a master list provided to them.

expensive coffee

In 2008, Jamaica Blue Mountain and Jamaica High Mountain coffee brands, said to be the most expensive in the world, sold at base rates of US$11.50 per pound and US$7.50, respectively, and earned between US$28 million and US$50 million a year.

Planning Institute data puts earnings from coffee export at US$26.8 milllion in 2008.

The 'Al' box of cherries sold for US$30 per pound and green beans for US$12 per pound.

For the first half of 2009, the CIB said most of the local coffee produced was exported green or in the raw state, with the number-one premium grade Blue Mountain now selling for US$33 per kilogram.

Sold as roasted coffee, the price is approximately US$44 per kilogram.

High Mountain fetches up to US$19.80 per kilogram for raw beans and about US$25 per kilogram for roasted.

Organic Blue Mountain attracts the highest prices, local growers say, with the roasted selling this year for up to US$95 per kilogram.

avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com