India’s coffee output is seen rising by over 1 per cent to 3.19 lakh tonnes in the current crop year (2018-19), which started in October 2018, over last year’s 3.16 lakh tonnes. The increase is expected to be driven by higher production of the robusta variety, despite heavy rains affecting the crop in Karnataka, the major producing state.

An increase in output in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and non-traditional states such as Andhra Pradesh and the North East is offsetting the crop losses incurred by growers in Karnataka due to the unprecedented rains last year, Coffee Board officials said.

Production of Arabica is seen at 95,000 tonnes, same as last year, while robusta is seen marginally up at 2.24 lakh tonnes (2.21 lakh tonnes). The harvest of arabicas is almost over, while the picking of robusta coffee beans is currently going on in various regions.

In September last year, the state-run Coffee Board had initially pegged the crop losses at 82,000 tonnes after incessant rains in July-August had impacted the crop in the key growing regions of Kodagu, Hassan and Chikmagalur in Karnataka and Wayanad in Kerala. In its latest post-monsoon estimates, the Board said there was an overall decline of 60,500 tonnes over the post-blossom or early crop estimates of 3.8 lakh tonnes.

Dissenting view

“Considering the scale of the calamity and the loss of 1500 hectares of plantations, we don’t agree with the Board’s latest projections,” said MB Ganapathy, Chairman, Karnataka Planters’ Association, the apex body of growers in the state.

In Karnataka, which accounts for about two-thirds of India’s coffee output, the Board has estimated a 1.24 per cent decline in output at 1.51 lakh tonnes. This comprises 67,950 tonnes of arabicas (69,025 tonnes last year) and 1.51 lakh tonne of robustas (1.52 lakh tonnes). The latest output projections in Karnataka factor a decline of 48,250 tonnes over the post-blossom estimates.

In Kodagu, the largest producing region, the crop is lower by around 5 per cent at 1.10 lakh tonnes (1.16 lakh tonnes). Arabica production in Kodagu is seen at 16,900 tonnes (19,550 tonnes), while Robusta output is estimated at 93,830 tonnes (97,000 tonnes).

In the largest arabica producing region of Chikmagalur, total production is estimated higher by 4 per cent due to an increase in output of both varieties. Arabica output is pegged at 33,500 tonnes (31,600) tonnes, while robusta production is estimated at 44,350 tonnes (43,275 tonnes).

Similarly, in Hassan, arabica production is estimated at 17500 tonnes (17,875 tonnes), while robusta is seen higher at 13,420 tonnes (13,000 tonnes). The Board in a release said that though the initial crop set was good with record post-blossom estimates of over 3.8 lakh tonnes, continuous heavy rains with severe intensity from early July and August led to substantial crop losses in Karnataka and Kerala, resulting in reduction of the post monsoon estimates.

The Board said that all major coffee growing areas of Karnataka and Kerala received excess rainfall of 46% to 98% in the January-September 2018 period over the corresponding part of the previous year. The continuous rains led to soil saturation and wet feet conditions resulting in defoliation, berry drop and incidences of stalk rot and black rot disease.

The unprecedented rains led to flooding and landslides affecting the coffee plantations, estate infrastructure, roads and communication network. The uprooting of shade trees as well as landslides have also damaged the crop, the Board said.

Growers in Karnataka said the Board’s estimates of arabicas could be on the higher side. “Based on the harvested crop size in Chikmagalur, we feel the arabica output could be lower than the Board’s projections,” said BS Jairam, former president of the Karnataka Growers’ Federation.

“Traditional areas may not be capable of producing this crop. It could have been from the non-traditional areas and new plantations,” said Bose Mandanna, a large coffee grower in Kodagu.

The Southern parts of Kodagu, growers despite a 20-40 per cent increase in annual rainfall, have picked a better-than-expected crop, while their counterparts in North Kodagu faced the brunt of the rain fury, Mandanna said.

Surprisingly in the Wayanad region of Kerala, which also bore the brunt of excess rainfall last July and August, the Board has estimated a 5.27 per cent increase in output at 58,450 tonnes (55,525).

Similarly, in Travancore, the Nilgiris and Shevaroys, output is seen rising, while the Nelliampathies and Annamalais have witnessed a decline. Also, in the non-traditional belts of Andhra Pradesh and the North East, the Board sees higher output.

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