TRANSPARENCY
Whilst we believe we are sourcing our coffee with integrity, the best way for us to demonstrate this is to publish information on the farmgate price we pay.
As both the exporter out of Timor-Leste and the importer into the UK, we do not have a freight on board (FOB) price.
All of the farmers that we know and work with in Letefoho do not sell green beans as they do not have the means to dry-hull their coffee. For this reason, they sell cherries or parchment only.
Farmgate Price
We work on an adaptive purchase model and buy cherry or parchment depending on the choice of our partner farmers. The prices published are exactly what the farmer receives directly at farmgate upon collection and all purchases are made by ourselves (no intermediary agents are used).
| CHERRY FARMGATE PRICE | PARCHMENT FARMGATE PRICE | UK & EUROPE OFFER PRICE | |
| 2019 | $0.40c | $2.85 | £6.10-£6.30 |
| 2020 | $0.45c | $2.88 | £6.30-£6.50 |
| 2021 | $0.46c | $2.90 | £7.00-£7.50 |
| 2022 | $0.58c | $3.00 | £7.50-£7.80 |
| 2023 | $0.60c | $3.25 | £7.50-£7.80 |
- All cherry purchased is processed at our wet-mill in Rotutu or used for natural processed coffee in Eratoi
- All parchment is processed at individual households
- Approx 5kg of cherry is required for 1kg of parchment
- Approx 1.2kg of parchment is required for 1kg of green beans
Our price is always agreed upon before the start of the harvest and does not fluctuate. We believe that by doing this, we are offering a more stable and secure model where small increases in price each year have correlated with a steady increase in coffee quality.
To put this into context, the commercial price for ripe red cherries in 2023 in Letefoho opened at $0.42/kg, peaked at $0.50/kg for a week and then dropped to $0.46/kg. In contrast our price was $0.60/kg for the entire duration of the harvest.
The commercial price for parchment can vary greatly with some companies buying parchment in 2023 at a price as low as $2.10/kg (equivalent of 5 x $0.42 commercial price for cherry).
We are completely self-funded and do not receive any financial loans or capital support for the purchase of our coffees at this time.
Our onward costs
Dry Hulling, Hand Sorting & Packaging
Our parchment is hulled and hand sorted by the incredible team at People’s Trade Company, a Japanese NGO based in Dili, Timor-Leste’s capital. This process is overseen by ourselves with the assistance of PTC’s warehouse manager, Akay.
| Dry Hulling, Grading & Hand sorting | Packaging | Export Quantity (kg) | |
| 2019 | $1,300 | $515 | 4,801 |
| 2020 | $1,300 | $511 | 5,730 |
| 2021 | $2,400 | $897 | 9,769 |
| 2022 | $2,680 | $2,136 | 10,775 |
| 2023 | $3,795 | $4,100 | 14,560 |
Shipping (from Dili to London Gateway)
| 2023 | $8,200 |
| 2022 | $8,405 |
| 2021 | $4,050 |
| 2020 | $2,500 |
| 2019 | $2,400 |
Shipping costs do not include insurance, agents fee or internal transportation
Additional Costs
We do have other costs involved which are not included in the above relating to staff salaries including one full-time field manager and 7 seasonal workers. There are also other costs for materials that we provide and distribute amongst all households in order for them to elevate the quality of their coffee.
Supporting Partner
We are fortunate to have partnered with the Australian Market Development Facility (MDF) who provided some financial support towards our common goal of developing the quality of Timorese speciality coffee in Letefoho. This has included contributions towards the costs to construct our processing facility in 2020 and also materials shared amongst those partner farmers wishing to process their coffee in their own household. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with MDF going forward, with particular focus towards adapting to the effects of climate change and the challenges that this presents.