Robusta coffee price touches all-time high amid global shortage

Robusta coffee price touches all-time high amid global shortage

Context: Robusta coffee farmers in South India are jubilant post-harvest with their produce fetching an all-time high price. 

Reasons for high price

• Decline of 30% in Robusta production this year owing to climatic vagaries, especially the scanty blossom shower in Robusta-growing regions last year. Wayanad in Kerala, which is the largest Robusta coffee-producing district in the country after Coorg in Karnataka, received a rainfall of 29.3 mm in the first week of January. Major parts of the district received no rain since then
• A sharp decline in the production of Robusta coffee—nearly 2 million bags— in Vietnam, a major Robusta coffee-growing country, has also led to the rise in prices

Total Coffee production in India

According to the Coffee Board of India, the total production of coffee in India during the 2022-23 fiscal was 3,52,000 tonnes, including 2,52,000 tonnes of Robusta coffee. The total value of India’s coffee exports has risen to ₹5,279 crore during the ongoing coffee season, from ₹3,982 crore during the same period in the earlier season

Geographical Conditions

• Coffee plant requires hot and humid climate with temperatures ranging between 15°C and 28 °C and rainfall from 150 to 250 cm.
• Frost, snowfall, high temperature above 30°C and strong sun shine is not good for coffee crop and is generally grown under shady trees.
• Dry weather is necessary at the time of ripening of the berries.
• Stagnant water is harmful and the crop is grown on hill slopes at elevations from 600 to 1,600 metres above sea level.
• Well drained, loams containing good deal of humus and minerals like iron and calcium are ideal for coffee cultivation.

Blossom Shower:

• Pre-monsoon showers are the key to plantation crops such as tea, rubber, coffee, pepper and cardamom in South India. However Coeffee varieties like Arabica coffee needs 90-120 days stress period and robusta about 60 days to blossom. But the rains every month since December have left the lands with moisture and vegetative growth preventing reproductive growth.
• Frequent rains will also help pepper catkins to gain weight, though new ones may not appear until the plants undergo a stress period.

About Pre-Monsoon shower

• Pre-monsoon shower or summer rain is formed due to the storm over the Bay of Bengal.
• It is a mixture of dry and moist winds. It at times gives rise to local storms, such as the occurrence of violent winds, heavy rain and hailstorms.
• These showers’ effect can be seen in two ways such as in some states of northern India it reduces the intensity of heat waves, but it also come with the blessing of showers in the Eastern and Southern India for the farmers.
• Different names of pre-monsoon shower

1. Tea Shower in Assam
2. Kalbaishakh in West Bengal
3. Mango Shower in Kerala and Coastal areas of Karnataka
4. Cherry Blossoms/ Coffee showers in Kerala and some part of Karanataka

Geographical Distribution

• In India, coffee is cultivated in about 4.54 lakh hectares by 3.66 lakh coffee farmers of which 98% are small farmers.
• The cultivation is mainly done in the Southern States of India:
  • Karnataka – 54%
  • Kerala – 19%
  • Tamil Nadu – 8%
• It is also grown in non-traditional areas like Andhra Pradesh and Odisha (17.2%) and North East States (1.8%).
• India is the only country in the world where the entire coffee cultivation is grown under shade, hand-picked and sun dried.
• India produces some of the best coffee in the world, grown by tribal farmers in the Western and Eastern Ghats,which are the two major biodiversity hotspots in the world.
• Indian coffee is highly valued in the world market and is sold as premium coffee in Europe.
• India ranks 6th among the world’s 80 coffee producing countries, with some of the finest robusta and some top-notch arabica cultivated.
• Nearly 70% of India’s coffee is exported, largely to European and Asian markets.
• Coffee in India is traditionally grown in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in South India, covering Chikmagalur, Kodagu (Coorg), Wayanad, the Shevaroy Hills and the Nilgiris.

India cultivates all of its coffee under a well-defined two-tier mixed shade canopy, comprising evergreen leguminous trees. Nearly 50 different types of shade trees are found in coffee plantations. Shade trees prevent soil erosion on a sloping terrain; they enrich the soil by recycling nutrients from deeper layers, protect the coffee plant from seasonal fluctuations in temperature, and play host to diverse flora and fauna.

Coffee plantations in India are essential spice worlds too: a wide variety of spices and fruit crops like pepper, cardamom, vanilla, orange and banana grow alongside coffee plants.

India’s coffee growing regions have diverse climatic conditions, which are well suited for cultivation of different varieties of coffee. Some regions with high elevations are ideally suited for growing Arabicas of mild quality while those with warm humid conditions are best suited for Robustas.

About Coffee Board:

• The Government of India established the ‘Coffee Board’ through a constitutional act “Coffee Act VII of 1942”
• Until 1995 the Coffee Board marketed the coffee of a pooled supply. Later, coffee marketing became a private-sector activity due to the economic liberalisation in India.
• It is under the administrative control of Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The Board comprises 33 members including the Chairman, who is the Chief Executive and appointed by the Government of India.
• Role of Coffee Board: Coffee Board serves as the friend, philosopher and guide to the Coffee sector covering the entire value chain. The core activities are primarily directed towards research & development, transfer of technology, enhancement of production, quality improvement, export promotion and supporting development of Domestic market.
• The head office of the Coffee Board is situated in Bangalore.
• International Coffee Day is on 1st October.