Haitian coffee production has been important to its economy since the early 18th century, when the French brought the coffee plant to the colony, then known as Saint-Domingue. It has been a major Haitian culture ever since. In addition to sugar, coffee has long been the backbone of Haiti's early economy. Currently, coffee lags behind both mango and cocoa in terms of export value.
History of Haiti Coffee
Coffee cultivation was first introduced in Haiti in 1715, as stronger Martian plants were later brought in and further developed.
The story of the introduction of Clieu coffee comes from his 1744 account in the Année littéraire. He arranged for a coffee plant to be transported in 1720 from the greenhouses of the Jardin royal des Plantes in Martinique. According to de Clieu, the water was rationed on the journey and he shared his ration with the seedlings. The story is repeated in many coffee stories. However, recent history shows that, although it may be true that de Clieu brought a seedling to Martinique and perhaps even shared his water ration with it, coffee is already growing in the Western Hemisphere: in the French colony of Saint-Domingue in 1715. and in the Dutch colony of Suriname in 1718.
As a former French colony, coffee was first grown in Haiti in 1734, and by 1788 it supplied half of the world's coffee.
The conditions in which slaves worked on coffee plantations were a factor in the next Haitian revolution that broke out in 1791. By 1801, most of the plantations had been burned. The Haitian Revolution Toussaint Louverture tried to revive production, which fell by 45% since 1789, and established a system of renting, similar to serfdom; limited to state plantations. However, when Napoleon began sending troops between 1801-1803 in a failed attempt to regain territory, the coffee plantations were again abandoned. When he learned of the final defeat of his troops in 1803, Napoleon shouted angrily, "Damn coffee!" Damn the colonies! ".
In 1920, John H. Allen, vice president of the city's National Bank, wrote about Haiti in "America" and said:
Until two years ago, Haitian coffee was never wanted in this market, while in Europe it was in high demand. Nowadays, there is a growing demand here for this excellent quality of coffee. When properly prepared, it is superior to most other classes.
Coffee production has been affected by natural disasters, as well as US-led embargoes against the governments of François and Jean-Claude Duvalier. Duvalier's dictatorship made Haitian coffee growers too afraid to come down from the mountains to sell their crops. The machines began to rust and the skills needed to harvest coffee trees were lost for generations. After switching from Haitian coffee production, Brazil moved and took control of the world coffee market.
In 1850 coffee was a major export from Haiti, or in 1949, when it became the third-largest producer in the world, the market continued to go through continuous cycles of growth and growth. The competitiveness of Haitian coffee has suffered internationally. Continuous changes in the coffee market are causing Haitians to burn their coffee to produce coal, in the hope that it will improve economic wealth. When Haiti was the world's largest contributor to coffee, 80% of the workforce was involved in agriculture. In the 1980s, the percentage of the population involved in agriculture fell to 66. Those who were not involved in the agricultural aspect of the crop continued to participate in the production of coffee through trade or as intermediaries or exporters.
In the 21st century, agriculture has been penalized due to difficult climatic conditions. Haiti has suffered from both soil erosion and deforestation, which is affecting the growth of coffee crops. In addition to the cycles of floods and droughts, Haiti has been the victim of many natural disasters. In 2010, Haiti was hit by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which left the country in the wilderness and played an important role in reducing coffee production.
However, the continued growth in demand has facilitated Haiti's return to the world coffee scene by implementing fair trade policies that have contributed to the recovery. The profile of Haitian coffee has grown and benefited small Haitian farmers, as specialty coffee has attracted a growing trend of socially conscious Western consumers receiving a premium on the world market by adopting strategies that have increased its value, such as origin labeling, differentiation of quality, such as fair trade, gourmet and organic, to meet these requirements and capitalize on their greater willingness to pay.