Too early to predict this year's (Hawaii) coffee market

By KAREN IWAMOTO/ West Hawaii Today

It's too early in the season to predict this year's market for Kona coffee but some processors are expecting stable prices.

Christine Sheppard, president of the Kona Coffee Council said she's seen prices for coffee cherry at 90 to 95 cents per pound, which was an increase over the prices she saw last year - 75 to 85 cents per pound. It's too early in the season to predict parchment prices, she said.

"Kona beans are very high quality but there's a premium on bigger beans because they just look better," Sheppard said. So far, there seems to be a lot of better grade beans in this season's crop, she added.

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