Johor coffee farmers on a caffeine high as global bean prices soar

In recent years, smallholders have been cultivating coffee, coconut and other fruits in place of oil palm

- Harith Mustaffa

BATU PAHAT - Record-high prices of wholesale coffee beans may bring frowns to latte lovers around the world, but small coffee farms in Johor are in a sweet spot.

Johor farmers who own small plots of land – farms known as smallholdings – have in recent years been chopping down some of their oil palm trees and cultivating coffee, coconut and other fruits instead, said Mr Esham Salam.

The 68-year-old entrepreneur and his youngest son Adam, 24, have been experimenting with growing coffee alongside crops like durian, banana and jackfruit to serve as a model for other local farmers.

“When we started work here eight years ago, there were hardly any coffee farms, even though Batu Pahat was widely known as a coffee-producing hub in the past,” said Mr Esham, who owns 7ha of land – roughly the size of 10 football fields – in Bagan, Batu Pahat.

“We (smallholdings in Bagan) have grown from 2ha to 20ha, with 10ha fully matured, producing about six tonnes of raw coffee beans annually,” Mr Esham told The Sunday Times.

Other farmers in the area regularly send their beans to his processing facility, where raw coffee beans are fermented, dried and sorted by grade before being roasted and packaged for buyers.

Malaysia’s coffee scene was astir when popular local brand ZUS Coffee announced on Feb 3 a hike of 30 sen (nine Singapore cents) for most of its drinks, citing surging prices for arabica and cacao beans.

Malaysian coffee drinkers and cafe owners say the price of a cup of joe has risen by roughly 30 sen in recent months.

“I still need my fix, and I think the increase isn’t much,” said Mr Adi Safa, 33, who was at evening coffee stall Grai, in the Eco Botanic area in Iskandar Puteri.