Malawi
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About
Landlocked Malawi in Central Africa is a narrow, hilly country at the southern end of the east african Rift Valley. One fifth of the country is covered by lake Malawi, which lies above sea level. Most people live in the southern regions. The climate is mainly subtropical with varying rainfall. The economy is predominantly agricultural. Tobacco, tea, sugar and coffee are the main exports. Manufacturing involves mainly chemicals, textiles and agricultural products.
Malawi relies heavily on foreign aid.
Only Arabica
Coffee is produced by large estates, smallholders only account for 20% of the production. The washing and processing of the coffee is often done at the premises owned by the estate.
Malawi is a landlocked country. The cost of moving the coffee to Durban for export is a heavy penalty.
Nice to know
Malawi is one of the very few coffee producing countries where most of the export is estate coffee.
Coffee facts
Flowering Period |
|
Main: December until February |
Harvesting Period |
|
Main: May until September |
Shipping Period |
|
Main: August until April |
Transit Days
|
Port of Shipment |
Imp. |
US |
EU |
|
Durban |
90% |
36 |
16 |
|
Beira |
7% |
40 |
20 |
|
Nacala |
3% |
40 |
20 |
Countries of Export
1. Germany
2. Sweden
3. UK
ICO Figures
Classifications
By Screensize
| GRADE 1 PARCHMENT | ||||
| Grade | Sreen size | Screen size metric in mm | Slotted round | Suggested instructions |
| E-elephants | 19/20 | 7.54/7.937 |
R |
Requires hand sorting from AAA - may be set to Chips |
| AAA | 19 | 7.54 |
R |
May not result in sufficient volume for Small Growers |
| AA | 18 | 7.14 |
R |
If blended with AB constitutes Malawi Grade I |
| AB | 16 | 6.35 |
R |
If blended with AA constitutes Malawi Grade II |
| PB | 12 | 4.76 |
R |
Equivalent of Malawi Grade 2 |
| CHIPS | 10/11 | 3.96/4.36 |
R |
Must be clean of all black beans |
| TT 2 | 14 | 5.64 |
R |
All sortings from AAA, AA and AB - clean of all black beans |
| TT 3 | 10 | 3.96 |
R |
All sortings from PB and CHIPS - clean of all black beans |
| Other requirements : 1. Moisture must be between 8% abd 12.5% at delivery to Buyer. Note Hulling at > 11.5% often cause mottling of beans. 2. There may no be more than 86 defects in 300 grams of any of the above grades. (PRO RATA = 29 defects in 100 grams) 3. The presence of black beans in any MAIN grades above is not allowed under ICO OCHRATOXIN REGULATIONS. 4. Growers must ascertain from Prospective buyers that the differentials offered justify their additional handling and grade splitting
|
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| GRADE FLOATERS AND MBUNI | ||||
| Grade | Screen size | Screen size metric in mm | Slotted round | Suggested instructions |
| E-elephants | 19/20 | 7.54/7.937 |
R |
Requires hand sorting from AAA - may be set to Chips |
| AAA | 19 | 7.54 |
R |
Blend together after cupping confirms similarity |
| AA | 18 | 7.14 |
R |
Blend together after cupping confirms similarity |
| AB | 16 | 6.35 |
R |
Blend together after cupping confirms similarity |
| PB | 12 | 4.76 |
R |
Blend together after cupping confirms similarity |
| CHIPS | 10/11 | 3.96/4.96 |
R |
Blend together after cupping confirms similarity |
| TT 2 | 14 | 5.64 |
R |
All sortings from AAA, AA and AB - clean of all black beans |
| TT3 | 10 | 3.96 |
R |
All sortings from PB and CHIPS - clean of all black beans |
| Other requirements : 1. Moisture must be between 8% abd 12.5% at delivery to Buyer. Note Hulling at > 11.5% often cause mottling of beans. 2. There may no be more than 86 defects in 300 grams of any of the above grades. (PRO RATA = 29 defects in 100 grams) 3. The presence of black beans in any MAIN grades above is not allowed under ICO OCHRATOXIN REGULATIONS. 4. Growers must ascertain from Prospective buyers that the differentials offered justify their additional handling and grade splitting 5. These grades of both floaters and Mbuni require more selective sampling to buyers to achieve better results as Cup Quality or the lack of it could result in blended batches in the very poor, rendering the mediocre to the same very poor level. |
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Determined by the Coffee Association of Malawi. There are no official norms at national level which has as a consequence that appraisals are irregular. |
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Typical description
Malawi grade 1 Mapanga
Processing
|
Picking |
Hand-Picking |
|
Washing |
For all coffees |
|
Fermentation |
For all coffees |
|
Drying |
Sun and sometimes artificial dryings |
|
Sorting |
By Hand and mechanically (gravity and screensorting) |
Coffee Environment
Smallholder Coffee Authority
Coffee production is more organised, because it is grown on estate plantations, except for the Smallholder Coffee Authority (SHCA), which is a group of about 200 smallholder coffee growers from different areas in the northern highlands. There are more than 12 coffee estates. The SHCA has since been privatised into a trust.
Within the last decade, especially following the abolition of the International Coffee Agreement (ICA) in 1989, many coffee producers in Malawi uprooted their coffee bushes, thereby reducing the crop size. This has caused a reduced capacity utilisation of 70 percent. Malawi coffee production may however increase as Flue Cured tobacco growers shift to coffee growing.
Coffee producers feel that international participation in trade fairs in eg Japan, Singapore and the European Community would help in finding new markets. There is also a requirement for more buyer- seller meetings. Producers would also like more government commitment in the tax and duty exemption implementation, which is not fully operational.
SHCA : Smallholder Coffee Authority
|
Total Production |
Decreasing |
|
Local Consumption |
Stable |
|
Exports |
Decreasing |
|
Importance of Coffee |
Increasing |