This year's coffee harvest for Cooperativa Café Timor (CCT) was almost as big as last year's record-breaking crop. CCT's 19,584 members brought in about 12,000 metric tonnes of organic coffee cherries, 98% of last year's record harvest. Farmers in two districts even produced more coffee than last year, despite problems elsewhere with drought.

CCT members send their fresh coffee cherries to the cooperative's two main wet processing factories. This means that CCT can deliver a high-quality product more consistently. It also means that the price CCT members receive is about 66% higher per pound than the farmers who deliver partly dried beans, called dry parchment, to CCT's competitors. The premium price paid to CCT members reflects the premium price CCT's coffee commands on the international market. With its organic certification and Fairtrade Foundation accreditation, CCT's arabica coffee goes to upscale coffee shops and gourmet resellers in the USA, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

CCT operates three factories for processing coffee, and all three were upgraded this year. At the two main wet-processing facilities in Maubisse and Estado, new machinery has increased handling capacity. New equipment at the Dili factory has increased handling capacity and processing speed. CCT's collection, production, and export activities not only provide more income for cooperative members, but also generate a large number of jobs around Timor-Leste.

USAID has supported CCT through the US-based National Cooperative Business Association for almost 10 years, building on an export crop first introduced by the Portuguese in 1815. The program increases rural employment opportunities by improving agricultural productivity, expands added-value processing, and develops new markets linkages to global buyers.

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