Coffee goes dearer as prices shoot up by at least Rs.200 a kg
Anantapur: Coffee prices have shot up alarmingly with a kilogramme of its powder going up by at least 200. This is because production of coffee beans seeds has been poor in the largest coffee-producing region of Kodagu (Coorg) in Karnataka due to massive damage caused to its crop because of both rain deficit and excessive rains. Coffee production scenario has been similar in Brazil, which produces the largest quantity of coffee beans in the world. Normally, a family of four uses more than three kilogrammes of filter coffee powder every month. We have limited our coffee drinking to only twice a day, rather than having it four times daily, Lakshmi, a housewife, told Deccan Chronicle . Kodagu district in Karnataka grows 33 per cent of the total coffee produced in India. The other main coffee-producing districts are again in Karnataka Chikmagalur, Hassan, Shimoga and Mysore. According to available data, output of coffee beans in Chikmagalur, which grows coffee over 93,005 acres, had been 82,450 metric tonnes in 2023. The production during 2022 had been 80,150 metric tonnes. But the situation is worse during the present year. Coffee estates in Brazil are spread over approximately 27,000 square kilometres, which translates to roughly 66 million acres. The production of coffee beans in Brazil too had taken a hit during the last season. Manjunath, who retails coffee powder from Chikmagalur in Anantapur, disclosed to DC that prices of coffee are expected to grow further in the retail markets during the next few months, until the new crop arrives. Coffee estates need balanced rains. But they had been hit by abnormal rains and rain deficit during the peak season. Such fluctuation has led to coffee prices shooting up, said a representative of Durga Traders, another coffee powder marketer in Anantapur. He pointed out that though the Ooty region in Tamil Nadu has many estates, they prefer to grow tea, rather than coffee.
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