The Royal Thai Embassy in Dili, in collaboration with Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led a delegation of 15 stakeholders from Timor-Leste’s coffee industry, including 5 representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Forestry and 10 private-sector representatives, to visit Thailand. On this occasion, the Timorese delegates attended an international workshop on “The Sustainable Highland Arabica Coffee Industry Development,” organized by the Royal Project Foundation and the Highland Research and Development Institute in Chiang Mai from 4 to 7 November 2024.

The workshop provided insights into Thailand’s Alternative Development approach, where the Royal Project Foundation has promoted coffee cultivation in the highland area to replace illicit crop since 1969, focusing on economic and social development while preserving the environment. The workshop covered the entire coffee value chain, from upstream activities - including coffee breed and variety selection, farm management, pest control, and organic fertilizer production - to midstream and downstream processes, including post-harvest processing, coffee roasting, quality control, business development, marketing, as well as eco-tourism. The delegates also visited Teen Tok Royal Project Development Center and the Inthanon Royal Project Research Station as well as the Mae Klang Luang village, which showcases eco-tourism initiatives that build on local coffee cultivation. The Timorese coffee stakeholders appreciated the development of the entire coffee value chain in Thailand and would apply the knowledge on the matter for the benefit of the coffee industry in Timor-Leste accordingly.

In addition, on 8 November 2024, the delegation participated in activities organized by the Specialty Coffee Association of Thailand (SCATH) in Bangkok. These included a briefing on Thai specialty coffee development and a coffee cupping featuring over 20 samples from Timor-Leste and Thailand, providing an opportunity for the Timorese representatives to network and exchange views and lessons learned with various stakeholders from Thailand’s specialty coffee industry.

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