Cuban researchers are trying to revive the nation's wilting coffee production through the development of new coffee plant varieties with higher yields and greater resistance to pests and diseases.

Jose Lacerra Espino, a researcher of the Institute of Plant Biotechnology, said three institutions nationwide have embarked on the task, adding scientists have already obtained stronger new hybrids by crossing traditional local varieties with coffee plants from Africa.

Cuba's ailing coffee industry, which has been deeply affected in recent years, mainly because the lack of funding and resources, and bad decisions and practices that discouraged planting.

The Cuban government had to spend 50 million U.S. dollars to import 18,000 tons of coffee to meet domestic demand.

However, the government hopes that coffee can become a major export product by 2015 after a recently implemented development program starts to yield results.

Authorities expect coffee output to reach 20,000 tons by 2015, and eventually between 28,000 and 30,000 tons per year./RHC-XINHUA

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