She said the cost of coffee imported from Colombia, a favorite among locals, averaged about US$3 per kg last year, while locally grown coffee wholesales for between NT$500 and NT$800 per kilogram.
Wu attributed the price gap in part to Taiwan’s high labor costs.
“Although Taiwan coffee is fresher than imported beans, we only make a 20 percent profit when we sell a kilo of beans for NT$500,” Lin said.
Quality is less of an issue, Lu says. Although Taiwan’s coffee may not be appreciated by coffee aficionados, it suits the local palate because it is generally mild, plain and without strong characteristics.
What Lin has trouble understanding is why Gukeng’s apparent success has failed to translate to other coffee growing regions in Taiwan, such as Guosing, especially since Gukeng is forced to import beans just to meet its own needs.
The Gukeng Farmers’ Association says its area’s coffee output, on 120 hectares according to 2004 figures, accounts for more than 33 percent of Taiwan’s total.
That scale of farming cannot possibly satisfy the demand of the millions who visit Gukeng each year, Lu said, a view confirmed by Lin.
“I heard some local coffee shop owners tried to buy Taiwan-grown coffee from farmers in Gukeng, but couldn’t because so many beans there were imported,” Lin said.
“There are actually not as many farmers growing coffee there as believed,” he said.
However, even with a flood of imported beans, Gukeng continues to draw crowds and attention while Guosing is relatively ignored — demonstrating the importance of marketing.
Last year, Gukeng, population 36,000, attracted nearly 2 million visitors, and it pulled in an estimated NT$45 million during the coffee festival that year in the month of December alone, the local farmers’ association said.
A Taiwan Coffee Association report said the future of Taiwan’s coffee market would be defined by reasonable prices, high quality, convenient access, multiple flavor choices, personalization and uniqueness, which lend themselves to the Gukeng model.
Growers in Guosing seem to be getting the message. Unlike the Gukeng farmers’ association, the Guosing farmers’ association is not familiar with coffee, so coffee growers are starting to fend for themselves.
Lin says farmers, recreational farms and hostel operators, as well as other service businesses in the township are now working together to form a “tour strategy alliance” in an attempt to match coffee with tourism.
Until the plan comes to fruition, Lin will continue to struggle, but he has no intention of abandoning his coffee plants.
Asked why he continues to grow coffee in the face of so many challenges, Lin said that having decided on this course, he is committed to doing everything he can to make the business successful.
He is planning to produce a line of drip coffee bags with homemade coffee to sell to hostels and hotels.
“I won’t give up being a farmer,” he said. “It is my commitment to the family.”
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