About 19,800 coffee farmers in Timor Lorosae have to swallow the bitter pill because of sharp falls in worldwide coffee prices. On 10 May the price of export quality coffee fetched US$0.6855 on the world markets. On 27 July, however, the price fell to US$0.5130.

"Every week the price falls sharply on the American market in New York. The price fluctuations affect us badly in Timor Lorosae because our coffee is sold on the American market," said Sisto Moniz Piedade, the Operational Director of Cooperative Cafi Timor (CCT) in Lecidere, Dili.

CCT is affiliated with the NCBA (National Cooperative Business Association) which markets Timor Lorosae coffee on the New York markets.

Before Timor Lorosae separated from Indonesia, Timor Lorosae coffee farmers were free to sell their coffee at Atambua (in West Timor) at satisfactory prices. That choice, however, is now not available.

Farmers now can only sell their coffee to CCT or two other industries – Asinco and Delta Cafi. "The prices currently offered at these places are really low," said Sisto.

Indeed, the issue of falling coffee prices has been taken up by all the 16 political parties in the election campaign for the 30 August election.

Leader of the Social Democrat Party (PSD) Mario Viegas Carrascalao said a kilogram of Timor coffee was sold at Aus$30 in Australia and 100 grams of the same coffee fetched US$1 in Portugal. "So I'm really baffled on why we are getting so low prices locally?" he asked.