Above Normal Rains, Strong Winds Take Toll On Coffee Crop

BANGALORE: The Coffee Board’s latest post-monsoon survey projects a 9.1% fall in the country’s 2007-08 coffee crop from the previous year. The 2007-08 coffee crop is projected to fall to 262,000 tonnes from the previous year’s 288,000 tonnes. The projected crop of 262,000 tonnes is the lowest in the past 10 years. Arrivals of the 2007-08 Arabica coffee beans have already started. Robusta bean arrivals peak in February-March.

Coffee Board chairman GV Krishna Rau told ET here on Friday that the projected fall in the 2007-08 crop was essentially due to excess rains during the monsoon months from June to September. In some cases, there was the added factor of strong winds.

The post-monsoon survey projects a 7.2% fall in India’s 2007-08 Arabica crop to 92,500 tonnes (from the previous year’s 99,700 tonnes). The survey projects a 9.9% fall in India’s 2007-08 Robusta crop to 169,500 tonnes (188,300 tonnes).

The survey projects a 7.1% fall in the Karnataka crop to 191,575 tonnes (206,025 tonnes). Karnataka grows more than two-thirds of India’s coffee. The survey projects a 7.9% fall in Karnataka’s 2007-08 Arabica crop to 73,950 tonnes (80,250 tonnes). The 2007-08 Karnataka Robusta crop is projected to fall by 6.5% to 117,625 tonnes (125,775 tonnes).

The survey projects a 17.6% fall in Kerala’s 2007-08 coffee crop to 49,000 tonnes (59,475 tonnes). The 2007-08 Kerala Arabica crop is projected to fall by 5.5% to 1,300 tonnes (1,375 tonnes). The 2007-08 Kerala Robusta crop is projected to fall by 17.9% to 47,700 tonnes (58,100 tonnes).

The survey projects a marginal fall of 0.7% in Tamil Nadu’s 2007- 08 coffee crop to 18,100 tonnes (18,225 tonnes). The 2007-08 Tamil Nadu Arabica crop is projected to rise by 0.7% to 14,050 tonnes (13,950 tonnes). The 2007-08 Tamil Nadu Robusta crop is projected to fall by 5.3% to 4,050 tonnes (4,275 tonnes).

The survey projects a 22.2% fall in the 2007-08 crop in the non-traditional areas (NTAs, including AP, Orissa, the North-East) to 3,325 tonnes (4,275 tonnes). The NTAs Arabica crop is projected to fall by 22.4% to 3,200 tonnes (4,125 tonnes). The Robusta crop is projected to fall by 16.7% to 125 tonnes (150 tonnes).