According to an industry study for a sustainable coffee program released in March 2014, Indonesia’s coffee production is supplied by 1.5 million smallholder groups with an average land holding of less than 1 ha per smallholder. Even so, it is estimated that only half a million of these coffee smallholders actively work on their plantations for commercial purposes. More than 60% of robusta coffee produced in Indonesia is based in South Sumatra Province.
Indonesia’s coffee market is very free; local and international exporters can compete. Most coffee smallholders are not organized, and the role of the cooperatives is very weak, and is exploited by middlemen and collectors who sell green coffee beans to exporters. Exporters control the added value of processing and export standards preparation.