Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Friday, Jan 18, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Friday, Jan 18, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Coffee Government - Policy Coffee growers to get interest subsidy Our Bureau
NEW DELHI, Jan. 17 THE Union Government on Thursday approved an interest subsidy scheme for coffee growers during the current fiscal so as to enable them to get 5 per cent interest subsidy on the working capital or crop loans availed of by them. Alongside internal transport subsidy on coffee exports, re-scheduling of crop loans and measures to enhance domestic coffee consumption were also announced by the Union Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Murasoli Maran, when a delegation of coffee growers called on him here. The delegation apprised the Minister of the constraints confronted by the coffee growers due to steady decline in prices, which is a global phenomenon. Mr Maran said some other suggestions put forth by the delegation including raising the WTO tariff binding on coffee from 70 to 100 per cent would be taken up with the Finance Ministry. The delegation impressed upon the Minister the need to introduce minimum support price (MSP) based on the Kerala model. The Union Commerce Secretary, Mr Prabir Sengupta, and the Additional Secretary, Mr L.V. Saptharishi, were present at the meeting. The delegation from Karnataka, which produced about 75 per cent of domestic coffee, consisted of Ms Motamma, Minister for Women and Child Development, Ms Suma Vasanth, Minister for Planning, Mr B.L. Shankar, Chairman, KLC, and senior officials of the Coffee Growers Federation of Karnataka. The Government has already taken several steps for the benefit of coffee growers which include initiatives for encouraging marketing of coffee in collaboration with cooperative societies such as NDDB, GCMMF (Amul) to increase domestic consumption, implementation of various developmental schemes by the Coffee Board under which financial/technical assistance are provided to the growers, waiver of penal interest to the extent of Rs 9.84 crore on the developmental loans to farmers, rescheduling of crop loans of coffee growers by commercial banks and raising of import duty from 35 to 70 per cent. The Coffee Board, on its part, has drawn up a medium-term export strategy to gain global market share and to improve the competitiveness of Indian coffee in the world markets over the next few years, a release said.
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