Why China needs fairer traded coffee... pt 1

Reason #1- the Math

The average Chinese farmer in southern Yunnan has anywhere from 1 to 10 hectares of land and depending on way the coffee was planted and the yield of each coffee tree 1 hectare of land produces about 1.2 tons of coffee cherries that are harvested once a year.

From one hectare farmers can expect about 1.2 tons of coffee cherries which then dried produces about 240 KG of green coffee beans. Those 240 KG of coffee beans can then be sold at an average price of 10 RMB per KG. So under most conditions farmers receive 2400 RMB per hectare per year. Leaving many families to live off roughly 352 USD a year from their coffee yield. Now many have multiple hectares of coffee trees and/or other crops but for most growing coffee can be a struggle.