Sucafina has opened a wet mill in Yunnan, China as part of a larger sourcing engagement in Yunnan actively working upstream with farmers as part of its responsible sourcing program, IMPACT.
“The mill is the largest and most innovative in Yunnan and is also the largest of the wet mills that Sucafina owns or operates globally. Sucafina is constantly striving for innovative opportunities to consolidate the learnings and knowledge we have gained throughout our global network and implement them locally, adding genuine value and environmental gains,” says Carl Sara, Sucafina China Managing Director.
The wet mill will support practices to help increase the net income, efficiency, and livelihoods of Yunnan producers, and develop targeted and regionally specific agronomy and processing techniques that can be scaled effectively in Yunnan.
The new Puwen wet mill has the capacity to process more than 15 tonnes of cherry per hour and facilitates the purchase of cherry from hundreds of local producers.
The high-quality wet milling equipment results in high yields, low defect rates, and extremely low damage rates to coffee. Fully electronic recordings of all lot quality and weight data are collected, including immediate issuance of contracts upon reception and prompt payments.
To minimise environmental impact, the mill has a closed-circuit wastewater treatment system that is zero discharge into waterways, a high-efficiency steam boiler for water treatment, a solar water heater that provides 40 to 60 per cent of water heating requirements, and highly innovative mechanical driers developed with a local manufacturer. Demo plots on-farm provide the opportunity to demonstrate the latest agronomy techniques to producers.
“The wet mill represents a significant opportunity for Sucafina to increase the quality and consistency of Yunnan coffees both domestically and globally. This adds value for everyone in the supply chain from Farmer to Roaster,” says Sara.
For more information visit www.sucafina.com
