HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	105
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

URGING THE NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS SERVICE TO USE GREEN COFFEE, INSTEAD OF PARCHMENT EQUIVALENT, AS THE BASIS FOR VALUING HAWAII'S COFFEE CROPS.

     WHEREAS, the United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service currently uses the parchment equivalent basis in determining the farm gate value of coffee produced in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, no coffee in Hawaii is sold at the parchment stage, as farmers must remove the parchment in order to sell their coffee; and

     WHEREAS, using the parchment equivalent basis is inaccurate and significantly undervalues the coffee crops produced in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, green coffee, the unroasted bean with the parchment removed, is the product that coffee farmers produce; and

     WHEREAS, using green coffee as the basis for valuation would be the most accurate representation of the actual value of the coffee crops grown in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, using green coffee as the basis for valuing Hawaii's coffee crops is consistent with how coffee is valued in Hawaii and internationally; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the United States Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service is urged to use green coffee instead of parchment equivalent as the basis for valuing Hawaii's coffee crops; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, all members of the Hawaii Congressional Delegation, and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Department of Agriculture.

Report Title: 

Coffee; Valuation; National Agricultural Statistics Service