State lawmakers have renewed efforts to set tighter limits on using Hawaii location names to sell coffee. However, only one of five bills introduced this session aimed at protecting the $60 million industry has gained traction.
House Bill 1517, which would require coffee blend labels to disclose geographic and regional origins and percentage by weight of the blended coffees, was passed with amendments unanimously by the House Agriculture Committee Wednesday.
The proposed measure, introduced by Rep. Nicole Lowen, D-North Kona, would also prohibit using geographic origins of coffee in labeling or advertising for roasted or instant coffee that contains less than a certain percentage of coffee by weight from that geographic origin, phased in to a minimum of 51%.
It further would disallow use of the term “All Hawaiian” in labeling or advertising for roasted or instant coffee not produced entirely from green coffee beans grown in Hawaii. Funds for the state’s pesticides subsidy program are also tacked on.
Currently, state law allows distributors to use Hawaii names such as Kona or Ka‘u on products that include as little as 10% of coffee from the named region.
The majority of testimony given at Wednesday’s hearing supported the bill. Opposition came from the Hawaii Restaurant Association, Hawaii Coffee Company, Hawaii Food Industry Association and Retail Merchants of Hawaii.
Lowen, after hearing testimony from more than a dozen individuals, companies and groups, questioned the Hawaii Food Industry Association about being able to label its packaging with Kona “in big letters” yet just one in 10 beans inside is Kona grown.
Lauren Zirbel, HFIA’s representative, said the blend is marketed to those who cannot afford 100% Kona coffee.
“We have no obligation to make Kona Coffee affordable,” Lowen responded. “It is a boutique product. We have a larger obligation to support our farmers. When you have a product that is top in its class, you need to protect it.”
The bill next goes to the full House floor a vote, where if passed it will be scheduled for hearing by the House Committee on Consumer Protection. If passed there, it will need another vote by the full House, and a hearing before the Finance Committee to remain alive and crossover to the Senate for further consideration.
Meanwhile, two other bills related to Hawaiian-grown coffee have for all intents and purposed died this session. Senate bills 2905 and 2906 were both deferred Tuesday by the Senate Committee on Commerce and Consumer Protection.
Like HB1517, SB2905 attempted to require coffee blend labels to disclose regional origins and percent by weight of the blended coffees. It also sought to prohibit using geographic origins of coffee in labeling or advertising for roasted or instant coffee that contains less than specified percentages coffee by weight from that geographic origin. In addition, the bill was to appropriate money for inspection and detection technologies.
Senate Bill 2906 sought to subject a $10,000 fine for each instance of false labeling of Hawaii-grown coffee, including roasted coffee.
Testimony submitted unanimously supported the bills.
While the Department of Agriculture also supported the bill, the department said it would be difficult to determine if the product is not what is stated.
“This bill may be a larger deterrent to promoting a false product but it is very difficult to prove that there is a violation without available testing to determine exact product origination. There is no commercial equipment or industry standard to test roasted coffee and verify the origin to effectively prove a violation or fraudulent occurrence,” the department said in written testimony.
However, during Wednesday’s hearing for HB1517, the Department of Agriculture indicated it would resume communication with the University of Hawaii to test the coffee as a means of enforcement.
Another pair of measures related to coffee labeling have yet to move. Senate Bill 2408 and its companion bill in the House, HB1535, relate similarly to coffee labeling. Both bills have been referred to committee, after passing first reading, however, with no hearing dates have been set.
Hawaiian coffee is the states second highest value agriculture crop, second to seed crops.
In the 2021-22, the value of the 26.7 million pounds of coffee cherry produced was $60.05 million, according to a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service coffee report released Jan. 21.
Green coffee, which is beans that have been milled but not roasted, commanded $21.70 per pound, putting the value of the industry at over $113 million. Post-roast, Kona coffee sells on the Big Island around $40 to $45 per pound.
According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, coffee utilized production was up 17% from last season with a forecast of 26.7 million pounds of cherry for the 2021-22 season. Bearing acreage totaled 7,100 acres, up 300 acres from the previous year, with an average yield at 3,820 pounds of cherry per acre, up 310 pounds.
The 2021-22 value was up from $48.38 million in 2020-21 and $54.3 million in 2019-20.
Hawaii remains the largest producer of coffee in the United States. Producers grow coffee in each county of the state that yields distinct flavors of coffee because of variations in climate, cultivation, harvesting and processing.
The 2017 Census of Agriculture, which is conducted every five years, showed the majority of coffee farms were located on the Big Island, though thriving industries have developed on Maui, Kauai and Oahu. Of the estimated 9,300 acres of coffee planted in Hawaii, including bearing and non-bearing acreage, 5,491 acres were located on Hawaii Island. Further, approximately 1,343 of the state’s 1,577 coffee farms were located on the Orchid Isle.