Coffee Cultivation

In Context 

• A disparity in the prices of Robusta coffee in the international market and India has become a major cause for concern among growers in South India.

Key Points 

• The price of coffee in India is usually based on international markets, especially the London market.
  • The price of Robusta coffee rose by about $70 a ton in the international market, the Indian market was yet to reflect the increase. 

• The trade sources contended that the likely reason for the disparity was ‘price cartelisation’ by some international buyers.

•  Also, the number of buyers had been relatively low in India as the harvesting season here would begin only by the end of December. 

Coffee Cultivation

• Second most important beverage of India after tea.
• Indigenous to Abyssinia Plateau (Ethiopia).
• It was brought to India by Baba Budan in the 17th century from Arabia and was raised in the Baba Budan Hills of Karnataka.
• British planters established large coffee estates near
  • Chikmagalur (Karnataka) in 1826.
  • Manantody (Wayanad) and Shevoroys in 1830.
  • Nilgiris in 1839.

• Coffee cultivation requires plenty of cheap and skilled labour for various operations including sowing, transplanting, pruning, plucking, drying, grading and packing of coffee.
• At present, more than 52,000 coffee gardens giving employment to 2.5 million persons exist in India.

• Conditions of Growth
  • The hot and humid climate
  • Temperature between 15°C and 28 °C.
  • Rainfall from 150 to 250 cm.
  • Well-drained, rich friable loams containing a good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal for coffee cultivation.
  • Dry weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the berries.
  • The crop is not tolerant to
    • Frost and snowfall.
    • High temperature above 30°C and strong sunshine (Hence, generally grown under shady trees on Northern and Eastern aspects of Hill).
    • Prolonged drought.
    • Stagnant water (Hence, grown on hill slopes at elevations from 600 to 1,600 metres above sea level).

• Responsible authority: ‘Coffee Board of India’ was established through a constitutional act ‘Coffee Act VII of 1942’ under the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

              Image Courtesy: Coffee Board of India

• Production Statistics:
  • Coffee Arabica (49% of the area) and Coffee Robusta (51% of the area) are the two main varieties of coffee grown in India.
  • Karnataka is the largest producer (about 70% of total coffee production and 60% of the area under coffee in India).
• Schemes for support: Recently, the Centre extended the RoDTEP (Refund of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) scheme to the coffee sector to boost exports. 

Source: TH