The Hindu Business Line : Direct export of Vizag coffee on the cards

The Regional Manager of the corporation, Mr B. Trinadha Rao, said the APFDC had acquired the export licence and a trial shipment may be undertaken later this month or the next. "We hope to start off with a nominal shipment to test the market and create our own brand image,'' he said.

Coffee beans harvested in Visakhapatnam plantations are traditionally auctioned off in Bangalore, the bulk of the crop going to Europe and the US. APFDC estimates that nearly 2,000 tonnes of its coffee indirectly finds its way into the international market annually.

What has prompted the APFDC into undertaking exports on its own is the growing taste for its coffee grown in Pedabayulu and Anantagiri plantations, particularly after it came into its own at the finals of the Flavour of India - Fine Cup Award of the Coffee Board held in Boston last year.

According to Mr Trinadha Rao, the APFDC's coffee is now fetching a premium price of Rs 60 per kg, even touching a high of Rs 67, against the rate of Rs 49 it averaged previously. APFDC is credited with being the largest grower of coffee in non-traditional areas in the country with 4,000 hectares of plantations in Chintapalle, G.K.Veedhi, Paderu, Araku, Pedabayulu and Anantagiri in Visakhapatnam district.

Mr Rao said Rs 58 lakh have been sanctioned by the Centre for upgrading its coffee curing plant at Narsipatnam. This will not only help the corporation to upgrade the quality of its coffee to export grade but also increase output.

APFDC is also upgrading its pulpers at the estate-level to ensure the quality of coffee right from harvesting to the curing stage, Mr Rao said.

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