Post-Blossom Coffee Forecast up by 6 pc.

Bangalore, (PTI) With coffee prices both in global and domestic markets ruling ''fairly'' good, India should make efforts to exploit the situation to its advantage by producing high quality coffee, Coffee Board Chairman Jawaid Akhtar said today.

"Reducing the cost of production by improving productivity and quality will only help in enhancing the competitive edge of our coffees," he said at the United Planters Association of South India (UPASI) and Karnataka Planters Association (KPA) Coffee Conference here.

Coming to production, he said the current year crop prospects are encouraging due to favourable weather conditions and post blossom crop forecast was placed at 3.08 lakh tonnes, an increase of around six per cent over the post-monsoon estimation of 2.89 lakh tonnes last year.

"The post monsoon estimation of current crop, capturing the impact of monsoon rains is under progress," he said.

"My appeal to all growers is to make all efforts in carrying out farm operations in a scientific manner in a continuous basis, so as to make coffee farming a sustainable and profitable economic activity in the long run," he said.

With majority of coffee growing regions having received extended rainfall, there was hope it would help the growth of coffee plants and improve production in the coming year, Akhtar said.

"Coffee production in India may be broadly said to be stagnant and the issue of increasing productivity levels assumes utmost significance for the long time sustainability of our coffee industry.

"This can be achieved only by replanting the uneconomic coffee plantations with appropriate plant varieties with proper planting architecture," he said.

He said on the export front, during 2009-10, around 2,04,174 tonnes coffee valued at USD 442.81 million equivalent to Rs 2,166.86 crore was exported, surpassing the target of 2,00,000 tonnes.

During the current year, permits have already been issued for export of 1,80,885 tonnes as on October 31, 2010, which is 80 per cent of the target for the full fiscal.

He presumed that the prospects for coffee exports this year appeared bright and chances were that India might achieve all-time high exports.

Talking about robusta, Akhtar said the Coffee Board had established a score card for tasting Robusta coffees for export with various parameters based on strength, neutrality, softness and mouth feel, which was recognized by the buyers all over Europe.

"This may help for better realizations for Robusta in future," he said.

Source : news.in.msn.com