The fifth China Mang City (International) Coffee Culture Festival opened on Jan 24, Kunming Daily reported.

Coffee lovers from more than 30 countries and regions took part in the festival, to experience coffee picking and processing activities and to learn about the achievements Yunnan has made in coffee planting and manufacturing.

The China-ASEAN Coffee Professional Cooperation Committee decided that this year’s festival will be the last. From next year, the festival will be incorporated into the Asian Coffee Annual Meeting.

Hongde County in Yunnan will be the permanent host for the Asian Coffee Annual Meeting because it owns the largest coffee industrial park in Asia. The committee also decided to have sub-meetings at cities outside of Yunnan province with huge coffee consumption demand.

“With the development of the coffee industry in Asia, we need to host an annual meeting to share information,” said Xiong Xiangren, Chinese director of the China-ASEAN Coffee Professional Cooperation Committee.

The world’s current annual production of coffee is eight million tons, with Asia accounting for one third. Yunnan has a planting area of over 1.8 million acres, accounting for more than 99 percent of the national total.

"China has huge consumption potential despite its relatively small production and planting areas. Choosing China as the permanent host of the Asian Coffee Annual Meeting is beneficial to the long-term development of the Asian coffee Industry and companies," said the ASEAN president of the China-ASEAN Coffee Professional Cooperation Committee.

The cultural festival is cosponsored by the China-ASEAN Coffee Professional Cooperation Committee, the China Coffee Research Center, and the Yunnan Coffee Industrial Association.