Coffee Growers Soften Stand On Imports

Coffee planters have finally backed down and are prepared to accept some amount of coffee imports.

We are not against coffee imports but we want it to be on a need basis, said I J J Rebello, chairman of the United Planters Association of Southern India (Upasi). The amount required can be assessed by a committee comprising officials of the commerce ministry and the Coffee Board, and the representatives of traders and growers.

The growers relented because of the fear that if they kept up their campaign against imports, the government would impose a cap on exports in order to ensure sufficient supplies in the domestic market, which would have wrecked their image in the world markets.

Coffee powder prices were raised by Rs 10 a kg early this week, which sparked off a strident demand by coffee traders for imports to offset the crisis in the domestic market. Though planters were opposed to the idea of a cap on exports, they wanted imports to be restricted. They feared that countries like Vietnam and Indonesia would dump cheap coffee.

Cheap and diseased coffee will only skew the domestic market unnecessarily, said Rebello. They urged the government not to impose export caps or duties and place coffee under the Essential Commodities Act. Anyway, it is not the weaker sections of society which are drinking coffee today, he added.