Semi-Roasted Coffee Import On Ogl Mooted

A sub-committee of the Coffee Board is going to recommend the import of semi-roasted coffee into the country under the open general licence (OGL) to offset the steep increase in domestic coffee prices while avoiding imports of infested seeds.

A recommendation acceptable to all sections of the coffee industry is the import of semi-roasted coffee under OGL as a remedy to rising prices in the domestic coffee market, a Coffee Board sub-committee member told Business Standard. The move is designed to pre-empt dumping of pest-infested coffee beans into the country.

The sub-committee was set up by the Coffee Board chairman Philipose Matthai a few weeks back and is due to submit its report today.

 

The sub-committee, which consists of representatives from different sections of the coffee industry like growers, exporters, roasters, traders and consumers, was formed to suggests ways to control the fluctuating prices in the domestic market.

The coffee industry was keen to come up with solutions to rising coffee prices fearing the government would slap a cap or duty on exports.

The sub-committee will also suggest the formation of a group by the Coffee Board to monitor the imports in specific quantities and grades for a period to prevent the entry of any pest-ridden coffee.

The sub-committee met various sections of the coffee industry yesterday like the representatives from the Karnataka Planters Association, Karnataka Growers Federation, Kodagu Coffee Growers Action Committee and COMARK.

One of the suggestions made to the sub-committee was to impose a levy of 25 kgs of clean coffee on growers whoch could be distributed to the vulnerable sections at subsidised prices whenever there was a scarcity in the domestic market.

Comark, the multi-state cooperative of coffee growers, has volunteered to offer their services to collect the subsidised coffee.

Another recommendation to be made by the sub-committee to the government will be to increase the customs levy from 65 paise to Re 1.

While we expect 35 paise to go to the government fund, the remaining should be pooled into a Coffee Fund. This corpus, which will be maintained by the Coffee Board, can be tapped by the coffee industry in times of crises, said the sub-committee member.