The Coffee Board will promote entrepreneurship in coffee with a dual purpose of pushing self businesses as well as coffee consumption.

Speaking to BusinessLine on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES), Y Raghuramulu of the Central Coffee Research Institute said 34 entrepreneurs had successfully launched their businesses in the last one and a half years.

According to BJ Ashwin Kumar, Research Chair and Consultant (Promotion), Coffee Board, about 700 were trained in various aspects of the business so far.

“The advantage in the business is that it will not need huge capital. One can take it off with even ₹1 lakh,” he said.

The consumption of coffee in India has been steadily growing at about 5 to 6 per cent per annum, Raghuramulu said, adding: “While South has been a predominant market, of late the numbers of coffee lovers in the North has been growing.”

About 3.25 lakh tonnes of coffee is produced by India. “ Efforts are being made to push coffee exports with a focus on special varieties,” he said.

Europe is a major destination for Indian shade-grown coffee, followed by the US. The domestic consumption is about 1 lakh tonnes, which includes a few varieties from Indonesia and Vietnam.

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