A coffee crop ready for harvesting. Coffee prices in India have hit record prices this year following a fall in global production, especially in Brazil and Vietnam. At the same time, erratic climatic conditions in India, especially in Karnataka, has resulted in reduced yield.
| Photo Credit: G. Karthikeyan
The record prices that coffee hit this year has spurred interest in its cultivation outside of the traditional coffee growing belt comprising Kodagu and Chikkamagaluru districts in Karnataka.
Coffee plant nurseries are reporting enquiries from Tumakuru and Chitradurga in Karnataka, and Palakkad in Kerala, and Hosur in Tamil Nadu.
Vishnu Ponnanna from Mookambika Nursery in Virajpet, Kodagu district said while there is higher interest from H. D. Kote and Mysuru, from where there were enquiries earlier too, now, he is getting enquiries from Tumakuru, parts of Chitradurga and even Hosur in Tamil Nadu.
Subhash Chandra from Ganapathy Nursery in Suntikoppa, north Kodagu, has received a large number of enquiries from Ballari, Davangere, Chitradurga, Tumakuru in Karnataka, and Palakkad and Idukki in Kerala.
Asked if it is viable, Mr. Ponnanna said, “Just like apples are now being grown in places other than their traditional growing areas, coffee too can be grown, provided the growers create the atmosphere required for the plant — such as shade and irrigation.”
Mr. Subhash Chandra even had a customer from Kolkata (West Bengal) who managed to grow the plant. “But their yield will be half or less,” he said.
Record prices
Coffee prices in India have hit record prices this year following a fall in global production, especially in Brazil and Vietnam. At the same time, erratic climatic conditions in India, especially in Karnataka, has resulted in reduced yield.
K.G. Jagadeesha, CEO and Secretary, Coffee Board of India, told The Hindu that the post-harvest estimate for last year is going on, but the final estimate may be around 3.45 lakh metric tonnes, which is a good yield, and very good by the present prices.
“It was a successful year for farmers. There was 10-15% loss, which was caused by natural vagariesz, such as high temperature in the beginning of the year followed by heavy rainfall. But the prices doubled, so it offset this loss. In case of Arabica, the prices are double, and for Robusta, more than double,” Mr. Jagadeesha explained.
He further said that as per the cumulative indicator price (ICO Composite Indicator Price, or I-CIP), which is an average of all categories, it was 167 cents/lb (pound) last year, and this year, it is 261 cents/lb. “The base itself was very high price upon which we have grown. Robusta, which was 130 cents/lb, is now 223 cents/lb, and Arabica was 202 cents/lb, which is now 291 cents/lb,” he added.
‘Don’t get carried away’
But he warned non-coffee growing belts against getting carried away. “We promote coffee where our scientific personnel recommend it as the ideal place to grow coffee. We don’t recommend any place that is sub optimal or ideal. There are some farmers who are growing coffee by creating a micro environment. In the long run, we don’t know if it’ll be profitable in that area,” he said.
Upon requests from people in other districts seeking the board’s support, they sent scientific delegations. In Shivamogga, the climate is reasonably ideal. In Chitradurga, there is a farmer who is growing coffee under the shade of areca trees with drip irrigation, shade, etc, he said.
“When the Coffee Board recommends, it should be doable even for the average farmer. Coffee investment is for 30-40 years. So we can’t base it on one or two special cases.
“Requests have come from Chitradurga, Uttara Kannada and Shivamogga, but we heard that people are trying to grow under areca. Even 30-40 years ago, people in Kolar people tried to grow, but didn’t succeed. Even at the Coffee Board (in Bengaluru), we have planted some coffee trees and we get berries once in a few years. But it can’t be treated as economically profitable. It can be considered economically profitable only if there’s income over a long period of time. To prove that, we go only when the macro climate indicators are ideal: average temperature, rainfall, etc. Coffee cannot be grown where elevation is less than 500 metres,” he said.
In these areas, the temperature is higher than that in the Western Ghats, rainfall is lesser and there is no proper drainage in case of high rainfall in a short period. Shade is also very important, he further said.
Forecast for this year
This year, the forecast is good for growers, and not for coffee drinkers.
K.G. Jagadeesha, CEO and Secretary, Coffee Board of India, said, “We have received some rains already and because of the good prices last year, planters have taken care of plants this year and done some irrigation by themselves as well. We will start the post blossom estimate now, but the forecast for this year is good. According to the experts, Brazil and Vietnam may not come back to their original production this year as well.”
Published – March 18, 2025 05:15 pm IST