Recovery in arabica prices gives relief to coffee growers

Prices of Arabica coffee are on a recovery mode tracking the global trend, giving respite to growers who are harvesting the crop in the key growing regions of Karnataka. The harvest, which started early in some parts has now been delayed due to bad weather delaying the coffee drying process.

Farm gate prices of Arabica Parchment, which hovered around the ₹10,000-10,500 levels per 50-kg bag in October have moved up to around ₹13,500-14,000 levels tracking the global prices, which have edged up in recent weeks due to bad weather conditions in Brazil and dip in global stocks. Similarly, the Arabica cherry prices have also moved up by over ₹1,000 per bag since early November to around ₹7,450-7,700 levels.

Arabica coffee put up for drying has been covered by tarpaulins to protect from bad weather

Ramesh Rajah, President, Coffee Exporters Association, said the arabica prices are recovering, but not yet reached the highs of last year of ₹16,500-17,000 levels. “The price recovery is good for the new crop. The arrivals have been slow as drying has been delayed due to bad weather,” he said.

Bad weather

“Our drying yards are jammed with coffees. The overcast conditions over the past two weeks has delayed the drying process,” said M Salman Baseer, an arabica grower in Sakleshpur.

“The prevailing weather is not at all conducive for the harvest. Also the shortage of labour has been an issue. Our yards are filled up as the drying process has been slow,” said Bose Mandanna, a large arabica grower in Suntikoppa.

The current recovery in prices was badly required as the cost of production of arabicas is very high at around ₹85,000 per acre, Mandanna said. Also, the arabica yields have dropped to an average of around 350 kg per acre.

Amidst the price recovery and slow arrivals, the trade expects a section of growers to hold back the produce. “Growers will hold back when the market rebounds and wait for better prices as the cost of production is very high,” Rajah said.

“Some growers may hold back their produce, depending on their holding capacity,” said Prateek Sargod of Sargod Coffee Curing Works in Chikkamagaluru.

“The arabica crop is looking good. The harvesting is going on in the lower elevations, while in the higher elevation areas, the picking is yet to start. The arrivals are delayed by about 15-20 days due to the bad weather impeding the harvest process, Sargod said.

For the current year 2023-24, the Board, in its initial post blossom estimates, has projected an output of 3.74 lakh tonnes comprising about 1.13 lakh tonnes of arabica and 2.61 lakh tonnes of robusta. Per the final estimates for 2022-23, the production of arabica stood at 1 lakh tonnes and that of robusta at 2.52 lakh tonnes totalling 3.52 lakh tonnes.

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