Coffee trees at Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

Coffee berries at Xinglong Tropical Botanical Garden. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com/Duan Xuelian]

But there is yet another problem. Because of fluctuations in coffee prices and fewer land resources, some farmers have turned away from growing coffee. The total area of coffee fields in the province has decreased from 167 million square meters to 4 million square meters. Coffee production requires about 3,000 tons of beans, but Hainan is only able to produce 500 tons. The remaining beans must be imported from Yunnan Province or Vietnam where they are much cheaper.

Wu Huasong said farmers in Xinlong County have figured out a way to improve yield per unit from 60 kilograms to 200 kilograms and encourage others to return to growing coffee trees.

"Since 2009, we started to promote the high-yield technique by giving farmers seeds and proper training and purchasing the coffee they grow at protective prices," Wu said. "But we are still in the initial stage."

Another way to get more farmers to grow coffee beans is to focus on processing rather than planting.

"Hainan should forge its distinctive coffee products," said Fu Changming, President of the Hainan Coffee Association. "We have no competitive edge in terms of yield, but what we can do is to conduct research on blending coffee and do more related to coffee products."

Fu said he is optimistic about the future of Hainan coffee and believes more opportunities have come with the increased numbers of international tourists who visit the island each year. The number of foreign tourists was about 470,000 in 2010, a 20-percent increase over the previous year. Fu said this was surely a big boost for the coffee industry in Hainan.