Yunnan brews plans for expansion of coffee crop

Yunnan's coffee industry, buoyed by high global prices, aims to more than double its output by 2020, according to the province's coffee association.

Reflecting China's rise as an emerging international bean supplier, multinationals are stepping up investment in the nation's burgeoning coffee industry.

Yunnan's coffee production accounts for about 1.5 percent of the global total at about 120,000 metric tons, "but we estimate that by 2020, production will reach at least 250,000 tons and account for 3 percent of global production," said Hu Lu, deputy secretary-general of the Coffee Association of Yunnan.