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Coonoor (Tamil Nadu): Even as India remains upbeat on surging demand for its coffee
beans in the global market, its planters have reasons to worry as
their share in the world production slipped to seventh position in
2011-12.
"With four percent (5.3 million bags of 60 kg) share of world
production, India slipped to seventh in this coffee year
(Oct-Sept) from sixth in 2010-11, as Peru in Latin America climbed
up with 4.1 percent share (5.4 million bags)," a leading planter
told IANS here.
New players like Vietnam (second) and Indonesia (fourth) in
southeast Asia and smaller countries like Ethiopia (fifth) in
Africa have also overtaken India in production, thanks to their
geological and climatic advantages and state incentives.
"Rich volcanic soil, favourable weather conditions through the
year, availability of water and lower production costs have
enabled these smaller countries remain ahead of India despite four
percent increase in our production in 2011-12," Karnataka
Planters' Association (KPA) chairman Marvin Rodrigues said on the
margins of a conference.
Though India's production grew marginally to 5.33 million bags in
2011 from 5.03 million bags in 2010, registering 5.9 percent
year-on-year (YoY) growth, Peru had a whopping 33 percent YoY
growth to 5.4 million bags from 4.06 million bags in the same
period.
In spite of 13 percent YoY decline to 6.5 million bags from 7.5
million bags in the like period, Ethiopia remained fifth while
Vietnam stood (second after Brazil) with 21 million bags and
Indonesia fourth (after Colombia) with 8.3 million bags.
"Our production cost is also higher than these countries due to
increasing wages, mandatory social costs like providing housing,
healthcare and provident fund to the work force, rising overheads
like fuel hike and state taxes/levies," Rodrigues noted.
According to the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), global
production, however, declined 1.6 million bags to 132.7 million
bags in 2011 from 134.3 million bags in 2010 (-1.2 percent YoY)
due to 'off-year' in South American countries in the biennial
cycle characterising the Arabica (bean variety) yield.
"Brazil remained top despite 9.5 percent YoY decline in production
to 4.35 million bags in 2011 from 4.81 million bags in 2010.
Vietnam continued its surge in production with intensive
irrigation and heavy use of inputs and fertilisers," United
Planters' Association of South India (UPASI) spokesman R. Sanjith
told IANS at the recent two-day 119th annual conference of the
commodity planters here.
World production this calendar year (2012), however, is projected
to be higher at 148 million bags, as it will be an 'on' year in
Brazil and is expected to produce over 50 million more of Robusta
and other milds, including Arabica.
Domestic production (post-blossom crop) is projected to increase
3.6 percent to 325,000 tonnes in 2012 from 314,000 tonnes in 2011,
with 104,000 tonnes from Arabica and 221,300 tonnes from Robusta.
(One tonne is equivalent to 17 million bags of 60 kg).
"Production in India is poised for highest growth ever, thanks to
a well-distributed rainfall in 2011, which helped in moisture
retention for longer period. The blossom showers (in April/May)
across coffee growing zones also helped in posting record growth,"
Sanjith stressed.
Citing a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report,
Rodgrigues said Indian productivity at 826 kg per hectare was a
cause for concern as it is below even Vietnam, which had a yield
of 2,150 kg per hectare and Brazil 1,333 kg per hectare in 2011.
"We need to do a lot more at the policy level and farm level as
higher production cost, including increasing wages and social
benefits, makes us less competitive in the international markets,"
former UPASI president D. Hegde observed.
Grown mostly in the developing countries and consumed more (about
70 percent) in developed countries like the US and Europe, coffee
is the second largest commodity traded worldwide, with 100 million
people engaged in the chain from cherry to cuppa.
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