The Roles of Cooperatives in Stabilizing Coffee Prices in Disruptive Era

Abstract

This article examines the involvement of coffee cooperatives in the Gayo highlands in price stabilization in the era of the covid-19 pandemic. In fact, in the last two years coffee cooperatives have played a central role in bringing together supply and demand for Gayo coffee needs at a global level when world coffee prices are falling. In addition, another fact shows that when coffee producers in other provinces decline, coffee production at the smallholder coffee producer level in Gayo actually increases. In general, the dependence of smallholder coffee producer on the global market cannot be denied anymore, especially with the implementation of an increasingly stringent code of conduct. With such conditions, in the last two years coffee prices at the farm level have even become more stable so that the level of smallholder coffee producer' welfare has increased. The author uses a descriptive qualitative approach with data collection techniques through observation and in-depth interviews with cooperatives in Central Aceh and Bener Meriah. The results showed that cooperatives had a significant role in stabilizing coffee prices. At the same time, cooperatives also play a constant role as distributors at the buyer level. And this is what is alleged to have stabilized the coffee price factor during the pandemic. With such a pattern, smallholder coffee producer are in an advantageous position because the surge in production during the harvest season does not affect selling prices at the farm level.