Coffee production in India is likley to come down for the 2006-07, even as the government is taking initiatives to boost to the troubled coffee industry.
As per the data compiled by the Coffee Board, India would have 0.29 million tonnes (mt) coffee for the last financial year.
Board officials said that the production figures are being compiled and the apex agency is making a valuation of the stocks available, and the export figures.
As per the post-blossom estimate of the Coffee Board, production during the last financial year was lower from the earlier estimate of more than 0.3mt.
But leading exporters said that the actual production figures will be much lower than the estimate from the Board.
Ramesh Raja of Bangalore-based Ramesh Exports said that the actual production could be even lower as arrivals of coffee at markets were low last year.
"I think the total production could be only close to 0.27mt," he pointed out.
The arabica variety of coffee accounts for nearly 40% of India's production and the remaning being the robusta variety. Robusta is of higher quality than the arabica variety.
According to Jeffrey Rebello, chairman of the planters body Karnataka Planters Association, there is an overall drop in production.
"The government needs to take ugrnet measure to ensuer to boost the production of coffee in India," he said.
Two months back, in an effort to give a boost to the troubled coffee industry, the Central government decided to create a Rs 800-crore special purpose fund to replant and rejuvenate the sector.
As per the plan, old coffee plantations on 80,000 hectare are required to be replanted in the next ten years to enhance the productivity. The government has already created a special tea fund to replant old tea plantations on 2,00,000 lakh hectare in the country to enhance the tea productivity.
With a production deficit of 8-9 million bags in Brazil, the largest coffee producing nation, global coffee prices are set to go up.
In the medium term of one-two years, there are reasons to believe that prices would go up if there is going to be a shortfall of 8-9 million bags. Coffee stocks are currently ruling at historical lows. The world is consuming some 118 million bags of coffee annually now.
In 2007-08, the global coffee production is expected to be around 110 million bags.
