Comments
Mr Ashok Kuriyan, Managing Director of the Bangalore-based Balanoor Plantations and Industries Ltd, is a bit relaxed on one count this year.
There is an improved labour supply for the coffee harvestat his company's estates in Chikmagalur, Karnataka. The harvest of Arabica, a milder and premium variety, has already commenced while that of robusta will start from February. Several hundreds of the mining labourers from Bellary – who were rendered jobless in the aftermath of Supreme Court ban on iron ore mining – have migrated to the hilly tracts of Chikmagalur, Coorg and Hassan districts. These key regions account for 70 per cent of the country's coffee output of 3.2 lakh tonnes.
While exact numbers on this phenomenon is not available, anecdotal evidence suggests many other coffee growers are also benefiting from this trend. “There is a better labour movement this year. I don't see the vacuum that we witnessed last year,” Mr N.K. Pradeep, a coffee grower and President of the Karnataka Growers Federation, Hassan, said.
Coffee berries have to be harvested within a specific window of time once they ripen. The availability of adequate labour assumes significance for the harvest or else the quality of the bean gets affected.
Labour costs
The labour costs account for around 60 per cent of the total coffee cultivation cost. Plantation labourers are paid a minimum of about Rs 140 a day for which they are supposed to pick about 52 kg of coffee berries during the harvest time. Any picking above the stipulated quantity helps them earn extra at an average of Rs 5 a kg. A seasoned worker can earn up to as high as Rs 400 each day.
Coffee estates, like any other segment of the farm sector, have been grappling with the labour shortage in the recent years as workers have preferred to switch over to better paying alternative jobs in construction and textiles among others. Besides, welfare schemes such asNational Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) had compounded the farm sector's labour woes including that of coffee sector in the recent past.
Mr Anil Bhandari, a large grower and Chairman of India Coffee Trust, an industry body recently formed to promote coffee consumption, attributed the improved labour supply to the slowdown in development and infrastructure projects including mining. “Besides, the crop size is huge this year and workers who had migrated away know that they stand to make more money through higher pickings within a short period of time,” he added.
However, in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, the labour supply for coffee estates continues to be acute. “There is a lot of competition for labour from sectors such as dairy, textiles and road construction from others,” said Mr Vijayan Rajes, Chairman of Upasi Coffee Committee. The Arabica crop in the Shevaroys looks good and is likely to be 20 per cent more than last year. “Any amount of labour can be absorbed,” said Mr Rajes indicating the gravity of the situation as harvesting of coffee is difficult to mechanise.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.