Coffee was first planted in South Africa the early 1960s and reached a peak production of around 5,000 tonnes but was taken out as it was deemed unsuited for most areas. Both Arabica and Robusta were planted again in the early 1980s, mainly to create jobs in rural areas and to save foreign currency during South Africa's apartheid era. Current annual production in South Africa hovers around 100 tonnes.

Robusta was again taken out in the late 80s as it was considered rather expensive by the local industry that preferred to import cheaper Robustas from abroad. The local roasting industry produces mostly instant coffee, often blended with chicory or other coffee substitutes. These roasters use the locally grown Arabicas to blend them with imported high quality Arabicas for the small but growing "roast & ground" market. The "roast & ground" is small but growing and accounts for approximately 5,000 tonnes.

In the last few years, small and medium size specialty roasters have created a small but growing niche market for higher quality coffees, imported mostly from South and Central America, with some small quantities coming from Africa.

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Lionel de Roland Phillips
Chapter Chairman
Director,
I & M Smith (Pty) Limited,
13th Floor, Kechof Building, 112 Pritchard Street,
P. O. Box 5687, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa.
Tel: +27 11 781 6150
Fax: +27 11 781 5737
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