Karnataka's flood-hit coffee planters suffer Rs 3,000 cr loss

Karnataka's coffee planters are staring at losses totalling Rs 3,000 crore as a result of recent heavy rains and floods that hit the coffee-growing regions, a top official from the Karnataka Planters Association (KPA) said on Tuesday.

"Heavy rains and landslides in Kodagu district during August have washed away several coffee estates, coffee plantations and several homes of coffee growers," KPA Chairman H.T. Pramod told reporters here.

With about 45,000 growers producing 40 per cent of India's coffee, Kodagu contributes a major quantity of the aromatic beverage. With its adjacent districts Chikkamagaluru and Hassan, the region accounts for 70 per cent of the country's bean production.

Heavy rains in Chikkamagaluru and Hassan have affected several of the coffee plantations.

"The KPA estimates the loss and damage to coffee estates, coffee crop and infrastructure due to floods in Kodagu and heavy rains in Chikkamagaluru and Hassan districts to be Rs 3,000-crore," Pramod said.

The official was addressing the media as the KPA marked 60 years of existence since it was formed in 1958 as the apex plantation decision making body in the state for coffee, tea, rubber, pepper and cardamom plantations.

"As many as 20,000 growers have been affected in Kodagu district alone with more than 70 per cent of their crop damaged," the official told IANS.

According to Coffee Board, the production of coffee in 2017-18 fiscal was 3.16-lakh tonnes.

"We expect the coffee crop yield for 2018-19 fiscal to decline by 30-40 per cent due to the rains and floods in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu," the KPA said in a statement.

--IANS

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