Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/737343
38 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 5, 2016 (October/November) Following Hurricane Georges, which struck Puerto Rico in 1998 and ravaged coffee trees, production fell to 150,000 qq. But two years later, the commonwealth government began of- fering incentives, including providing seedlings to farmers for 5 to 10 cents apiece. It also provided subsidized fertilizer and machinery, boosting output to 225,000 qq by 2004. "But in 2005, the government did the exact opposite. They increased the prices paid to coffee growers but cut fertilizer sub- sidies in half, and stopped giving seedlings," said Negrón. "They also prohibited growers from planting robusta, and encouraged them to grow arabica instead, following the example of some Central American countries that only plant arabica. The year af- ter, they reversed that order, so it didn't last long." At present, he said, about 6,000 of Puerto Rico's annual pro- duction of 40,000 qq is robusta. Interestingly, in the late '80s and early '90s, island farmers began cultivating two arabica va- rieties — limaní and frontón — that tolerate coffee rust dis- ease, known in Spanish as la roya. But a change in government policy led farmers to go back to the more traditional bourbon and typica varieties that were planted in the 1950s and which are not resistant to la roya, which began attacking local coffee trees about three years ago. This, say industry leaders, is why the government needs to stop going back and forth when it comes to agricultural policy. Last year, Edwin Soto warned that the Puerto Rico Department of Consumer Affairs (known by its Spanish acronym DACO) would endanger thousands of jobs in rural areas by its decision to pay $379/qq for local coffee and $322/qq for imported beans in order to keep supermarket prices low. "That puts 20,000 jobs at risk and will replace quality local coffee with coffee of lesser value," Soto told reporters at the time, warning that the price disparity would discourage roasting companies from buying Puerto Rican coffee beans. Added Negrón: "We still have a local market we need to satisfy. If we have consistent policies with the right varieties, we can increase production and fulfill local needs. Once we get to that point, we can start looking again at exports." Back in San Juan, Torres — the owner of Gustos Coffee — is enjoying another espresso at his rotating cupping table. "We now focus on specialty coffee and are involved in every aspect of the business, from office coffee service to cafeterias, panaderias and restaurants," said the entrepreneur, whose family has For now, Negrón's company employs 250 people, 120 of them directly involved in farming and sells 15 million pounds of coffee a year. "When your farms are well-maintained and have healthy production, you will not have problems finding pickers," said the businessman, whose nursery boasts one million seedlings. Last season, he advertised online for coffee workers and ended up registering 2,000 laborers who worked four to five hours a day, earning $8 to $10 per hour. Production from year to year has varied wildly, often de- pending on whatever government policies were in effect at a given moment. Carlos Rullán Fernández, purchasing manager at Puerto Rico Coffee Roasters, tastes a sample as Germán Negrón, looks on Maybelline Fermaint-Torres packages Casa Grande coffee at the Gustos Coffee Co. production facility in San Juan Photos by Larry Luxner