The Hindu Business Line : Coffee output seen lower than board estimate

COFFEE production during the 2004-05 season starting October could be lower than the 2.92-lakh tonnes estimate made by the Coffee Board in view of pest attacks and weather-related problems, according to growers.

"There are two problems relating to coffee production. One, due to prolonged drought the setting in robustas is not good. Arabicas, on the other hand, have been hit by white stem borer and dropping due to heavy rains," a grower in Kodagu district said.

When contacted, Mr Bose Mandanna of Karnataka Coffee Brokers Ltd, said good robusta production was expected in only estates that had good irrigation facilities.

"Since robustas are deep-rooted ones, there was lack of water due to the long dry period. In most of the estates, the tanks went dry after pulping of the crop last year. Therefore, there is a likelihood of, say, an estate where robusta production was expected to be 10 tonnes, producing only eight tonnes," he said.

The Coffee Board recently revised its crop estimate for the next season to 2.92 lakh tonnes comprising 1.16 lakh tonnes arabica and 1.76 lakh tonnes robusta. This is against 2.75 lakh tonnes projected earlier. This year, too, the production is 2.75 lakh tonnes — 1.69 lakh tonnes robusta and 1.06 lakh tonnes arabica.

"Robustas may see a 10-15 per cent fall in production. We expect that the output could be 1.65 lakh tonnes this season," grower sources said.

On the other hand, the arabicas had got rains at the "right time".

"Arabica roots are shallow and they don't need much shade. So with timely rains, the setting of the crop was beautiful," said Mr Mandanna.

With heavy rains lashing the growing parts, especially areas such as Talacauvery and Bagamandla, `wet feet' dropping of the crop is being witnessed.

Due to heavy rains, the ground gets soggy and the roots start working.

As a result, coffee starts dropping and this is a common phenomenon during mid-monsoon.

"The arabica production could be around one lakh tonnes at the most," grower sources said.

Coffee Board officials say the loss of crop due to these factors may not be much.

"The loss, if at all, could be minimal. We have taken most of these factors into consideration before making our estimates," they said.

Last year, the crop had declined to 2.75 lakh tonnes from a record 3.06 lakh tonnes the previous year on pest attacks and poor crop management by growers, affected by unremunerative returns.

The method of plucking the plant with the borer is seen more effective than using pesticide.

Last year, the Coffee Board spent Rs 51 lakh on this scheme to pluck the pest-hit plans, while for the current year, it has fixed an outlay of Rs 77 lakh, according to official sources.

A section of coffee trade feels the crop during 2002-03 could have been higher than projected by the Government; and the growers could have held them back and used it during the current season.

"We found more coffee coming this year despite the crop being hit. We think the crop could have been much higher," trade sources said.

"It is easy to store arabica and robusta cherry. The growers would have had no problem holding them, especially when the prices were low," they said.

One of the reasons for the Coffee Board to come out with a new system of crop projection could have been this, they say.