Timor-Leste “doesn’t have enough coffee” to meet the growing demand, particularly of the Chinese mainland, said a Macao businessman who has been importing seven to eight containers of coffee every year from Timor-Leste since its restoration of independence 20 years ago.

Some of the coffee beans are sold to factories in Macao where they are roasted, processed, and packaged before being exported to the Chinese mainland. On the other hand, most of the coffee beans that the businessman imports from Timor-Leste go directly to the Chinese mainland, where the sales “have grown a lot with an annual average increase of 20% or more,” according to the businessman.

Since the display of the coffee beans at the China International Import Expo in 2020, Timor-Leste has exported coffee worth $5 million to the Chinese Mainland.