Farmers busy harvesting coffee cherries in SW China's Yunnan

Photo shows a coffee estate in Menglian Dai, Lahu and Wa Autonomous County, Pu'er city, southwest China's Yunnan Province. (People's Daily Online/Hu Zunhui)

Coffee farmers have been busy picking coffee cherries in Menglian Dai, Lahu and Wa Autonomous County, Pu'er city, southwest China's Yunnan Province, as the harvest season for coffee cherries has recently arrived.

As a major producer of Arabica coffee beans in China, Menglian began to promote industrialized and large-scale coffee planting in 1988. The coffee industry has become one of the four traditional pillar industries in Menglian. 16,081 households in the county are engaging in coffee planting, with the total planting area reaching 111,600 mu (7,440 hectares).

In recent years, Menglian has pivoted towards high-quality coffee production. During the 2023-2024 harvest season, the rate of premium coffee beans in the county reached 62 percent, maintaining its top position in Yunnan Province for three consecutive years.

The county anticipates producing 12,500 tonnes of green coffee beans in the 2024-2025 harvest season, potentially generating over 1.3 billion yuan ($178.77 million) in total output value for the entire industrial chain.