Coffee Board plans to regain markets

The Union commerce ministry has told the Coffee Board to prepare a plan to regain the lost glory in the global coffee markets especially in the key markets of Russia, Italy, Spain and Japan.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Jairam Ramesh, Union minister of state for commerce, after interacting with the coffee industry said, the main element of the campaign is to create awareness and popularise India coffee in these countries.

In a few global markets, India not only faces competition from Vietnam in coffee exports but also from other plantation crops like pepper and tea, he added.

To showcase Indian coffee and to boost consumption in the global market, the commerce ministry plans to hold India International Coffee Festival on the lines of BangaloreIT.com and BangaloreBio once every two years. The first of such festivals has been planned for February 2007.

Ramesh on Tuesday interacted with United Planters Association of South India, Karnataka Planters Association and Karnataka Growers' Federation to chalk out long-term and short-term measures plaguing the Indian plantation sector.

With the break-up of the Soviet Union, the country has lost two-third of the market and in Italy and Yugoslavia, Vietnam has begun to eat into India's share with higher productivity and lower cost.

With severe competition in the global markets, Coffee Board has been told to identify ways of reducing cost to be more competitive, said Ramesh.

The board has initially identified social infrastructure like housing, electricity, schools, road and health for plantation labourers, as key elements dragging the coffee sector and is working on a mechanism to share the burden.

Presently, the board is working on 50:50 cost sharing between the government and the industry.

"Of the 50 per cent government cost, it will be equally borne by Centre and state," said Ramesh.

To develop alternative to coffee cultivation, the Coffee Board has identified growing of medicinal plants.

For this, National Medicinal Plants Board has been notified and has been asked to prepare a blue print.

"By promoting diversification and by taking up medicinal plants cultivation, growers especially organic coffee cultivators can reduce the risk posed by over dependence on coffee," said Krishna Rau, chairman Coffee Board.