Togo
Togo is a country in West Africa, which extends for a short distance south to the Gulf of Guinea. The narrow territory stretches vertically and its climates and habitats change a lot from north to south: the north is flat and characterized by the savannah; the centre is hilly; from south-east to north-east extends the Togo Mountains, whereas in the south there’s an upland (100-300 metres high) which slowly extends becoming a lowland, rich in swamps and lagoons. Climate is typically tropical.
In Togo coffee production began in 1905, during the Colonial era. German colonists introduced coffee, cocoa and cotton cultivations, and they imported also all the useful infrastructures for the development of agriculture. Today this little African country boasts one of the highest living standard of all the continent, mainly thanks to agriculture which feeds 65% of local workforce.
Coffee industry was liberalized in 1996. Until then a parastatal organization, the Office des Produits Agricoles du Togo(OPAT), held the monopoly, whereas the domestic market was privatized. Anyway, the fixing of prices and revenues owed to farmers were imposed by the government.
After the liberalization, exporters were free to buy coffee directly from farmers, allowing them to achieve higher revenues. As a matter of fact, Togo represents one of the best examples of liberalization.
Today Togo is a small producer of high-quality Robusta, which is known as one of the cleanest, most balanced and best handpicked variety, grown in the south-west of the country, near the border with Ghana. Largest importing countries are Belgium, France, Holland and Italy.
| BOTANICAL CLASSIFICATION | Robusta |
| BAGS | From 60 kg in jute bags (tare 1 kg) |
| BLOOMING | From May to August |
| HARVESTING | From December to February |
| HARVESTING METHOD | handpicking |
| EXPORTATION | From January to September |
| BOARDING PORTS | Lomè |
| PRODUCTION | 140.000 bags |