Category Archives: Business & Economy

New airport at Kannur may boost tourist arrivals to Mysuru, Kodagu

December 16, 2017Business & Economyadmin

A file photo of the runway at the Kannur International Airport.

Authorities invite Mysuru Travels Association for a tour of the greenfield airport

Tourism industry in Mysuru and Kodagu is hoping for a surge in tourist footfall — all thanks to Kannur International Airport, a greenfield airport in Kerala, which will be inaugurated for flight operations shortly.

Stakeholders here argue that the airport will open a new gateway for tourism development as Kodagu is closer to Kannur and eventually improve connectivity between the two States boosting tourism.

According to tour and travel operators here, some section of tourists wishing to visit Mysuru and Madikeri may opt to travel via Kannur airport instead of Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport and the itinerary will alter once the airport becomes operational. Mysuru Travels Association (MTA) has been invited by the authorities for a tour of the greenfield airport.

Confirming this to The Hindu, MTA president B.S. Prashanth said tour and travel operators from Mysuru will soon be visiting Kannur to take a look at the facilities at the airport. The airport has been developed under public-private partnership.

Transit route

“Mysuru is the transit route to Madikeri. Once the airport becomes operational, Kodagu may become the new transit zone to Mysuru if tourists prefer flying to Kannur instead of Bengaluru when they plan their vacation to the ‘Land of coffee’. Tourism is booming in Kodagu with scores of homestays and popular hill resorts to unwind,” he said.

The new airport will also open new access way to tourists planning to visit Wayanad and Ooty — the other two popular hill stations in south India. The road connectivity from Kannur is said to be good further pushing tourist arrivals to Kodagu. Kannur is around 70 km from Virajpet in Kodagu while the distance from Mysuru is around 120 km.

People flying to Kannur need not have to bother about traffic to reach their destinations – Madikeri or Mysuru – unlike from Bengaluru. Reaching the city from Kempegowda International Airport at Devanahalli near Bengaluru and thereafter to Mysuru under bumper-to-bumper traffic on the busy National Highway is a challenge for tourists, who fly into the State capital. “If you provide good and hassle-free connectivity, people will definitely patronise,” the stakeholders claim. “The traffic doubles in weekends with the travelling time stretching up to four hours between Bengaluru and Mysuru. Barring the ghat section, the drive is smooth between Mysuru and Kannur,” he said.

The spurt in homestays and luxury resorts in the ‘Land of Coffee’ – Kodagu – has made it one of the busiest hill stations in south India.

“There is a little worry as Kodagu is getting commercialised. We don’t want the place to meet the same fate as Ooty which has undergone rapid commercialisation. To some extent, Kodagu should retain its serene identity to be in the competition,” sources in tourism sector here told The Hindu.

Some unconfirmed statistics said Kodagu has over 35,000 rooms – at homestays, hotels, and resorts. The number has increased only in recent years.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Shankar Bennur / Mysuru – December 15th, 2017

Growers hope MIP on pepper will block dumping of Vietnam variety

December 11, 2017Business & Economy, Pepper, World Opinionadmin

Mangaluru :

Karnataka, one of two major black pepper producers in the country, has wholeheartedly welcomed the Union Commerce Ministry’s decision to fix Minimum Import Price of `500 per kg on pepper on CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) basis.

India produces about 65,000 tonnes of pepper of which state’s contribution is about 30,000 tonnes. Kodagu, Chikkakamagaluru and Hassan districts are the major pepper growing areas in the state apart from the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.

Konkodi Padmanabha, convenor, Consortium of Pepper Growers Association, told reporters here on Thursday that the decision will automatically block the import of poor quality pepper especially from Vietnam and as a result the demand for Indian pepper will increase. At present, farmers are getting a minimum of `380 per kg and experts believe that the prices may jump by `50-60 per kg in a fortnight and growers may get at least `700 a kg for the next season’s pepper.

CAMPCO MD Suresh Bhandary M said it may take another 2-3 months for the new prices to stabilise after the old stock is cleared.“The MIP will not be applicable for the licences already issued for import for Vietnam pepper. It will apply only for fresh licences.” Further, he said the fixing of uniform MIP for all grades of pepper and even crushed and ground pepper will avoid chances of adulteration.

Organisation’s co-ordinator K K Vishwanath urged the Centre to ban the import of black pepper into the country, impose dumping duty on imported pepper, hike the import duty from present 64 percent to 108 percent, allow the import of pepper only through any two ports for better monitoring, take strict measures to certify the quality of imported pepper and bring in laws to issue ‘Fake country of origin’ for imported pepper. He said they want ban in pepper import as traders may now use the Nepal route.

“Since there is no port in Nepal, foreign countries import to Nepal through ports in Kolkatta. Then it become easy for them to push it inside India as there is free trade agreement between the two countries.” Padmanabha thanked commerce minister Suresh Prabhu for his positive response to their petition in just 13 days and union minister Ananth Kumar Hegde and MPs Nalin Kumar Kateel, Prathap Simha and the state government for taking up their cause.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Karnataka / by Express News Services / December 08th, 2017

Coffee exports rise 8% in January-November

December 10, 2017Business & Economy, Coffee News, World Opinionadmin

Coffee exports from India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter, rose by 8.08 per cent to 3.61 lakh tonnes in January-November 2017 compared to 3.34 lakh tonnes in the same period of last year, according to the Coffee Board.

Italy, Germany and Russia were the major export destinations for Indian coffee during the period. India ships both robusta and Arabica varieties, besides instant coffee.

Robusta coffee exports rose by 10.80 per cent to 2,11,442 tonnes in January-November 2017 from 1,90,828 tonnes in the year-ago, the board dats showed.

Export of Arabica coffee however declined by 10.81 per cent to 44,084 tonnes from 49,431 tonnes in the said period.

The outbound shipment of instant coffee increased sharply by 86 per cent to 47,734 tonnes in January-November this year from 22,966 tonnes in the same period last year, the data showed.

Of the total exports, India exported 73,705 tonnes to Italy, 38,671 tonnes to Germany and 26,319 tonnes to Russia during the period under review.

Some of the major exporting companies include CCL Products IndiaBSE 0.94 %, Tata CoffeeBSE -0.92 %, Olam Agro and Coffee Day Global Ltd.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> News> Economy> Foreign Trade / PTI / December 04th, 2017

Asia’s first woman coffee taster was nearly ‘brewed’ out

December 10, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Coffee News, Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorg, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinionadmin

Bengaluru :

Asia’s first lady of coffee Sunalini Menon says she never planned on being a coffee-taster. She says that she decided on a course in Dietetics or a Phd. in Foods, when she chanced upon an advertisement calling for Assistant Cup tasters at the Coffee Board of India. “I had tried tea tasting as a child at an uncle’s tea estate in Munnar and the ad brought back happy memories of sipping, slurping, spitting and looking wise. I applied for the post and was called for the interview.”

She had to compete with eight men with more experience and qualifications, and that was her first job interview. Sunalini came first in the written and oral tests.

Sunalini, Asia’s first woman coffee taster, says, that the internal panel of examiners were not too keen to appoint her because she was young, had no knowledge about coffee and was a woman who could get married and give up the assignment. “But the then chairman of the Coffee Board was insistent that gender should not come in the way of a job and that as I had topped the interview, that I should rightfully be given the assignment.” Sunalini then joined the Coffee Board of India in 1972.

It wasn’t easy working at the Coffee Board of India, she says. She was the only woman at the officer’s cadre level in the Board then. “The staff working under me refused to accept my instructions or the schedule I had set for work, they were not used to taking instructions from a woman,” she says. “Fortunately, I had a chief who took me under his wing and advised me to first learn the subject and give them time to accept me. His parting words were ‘Tread slowly, but firmly’.”

The in-house training she was given was intense. Every day, she would taste washed arabicas, unwashed arabicas, washed robustas and unwashed robustas, to understand the various nuances in a cup.
Also, a founder trustee of the Women’s Coffee Alliance – India Chapter, Sunalini was present at the Coffee Santhe held recently at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat. She says, “This is our annual fund raiser to help empower women coffee-plantation workers and their girl children.”

Coffee tasting is both a science and an art

While carrying out coffee tasting, there is a protocol that one needs to follow. The attributes that are evaluated in the cup are fragrance, which is the smell of the coffee powder in the dry state, and aroma, which is the smell in the wet state, when water is added to the powder. During the aroma evaluation, the crust (floating particles on the surface of liquor or the brew prepared for tasting and all the aromatic volatiles) is broken. With“Breaking of Crust”, fragrance, aroma and the other attributes are evaluated for flavour, aftertaste, acidity, mouthfeel, uniformity, balance, cleanliness, sweetness and, finally, the overall rating of the cup.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bengaluru / by Akhila Damodaran / Express News Service / December 08th, 2017

Get a whiff of coffee at GES

November 29, 2017Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Coffee Newsadmin

The stall set up by Coffee Board at the GES venue where Araku Coffee grown in the eastern ghats is also on display.

Coffee Board sets up stall to promote regional flavours

Coffee Board, a Government of India enterprise, has put up a stall at GES venue to promote various regional flavours of coffee mostly grown in the western ghats.

Though India is the sixth largest producer of coffee that’s mostly exported to Europe, not many outside Europe are aware of it. “This is our opportunity to promote Indian coffee among the global audience at GES,” says Raghuramulu, Director, Central Coffee Research Institute, Coffee Board.

The western ghats is one of the biodiversity hotspots in the world and coffee is grown as an integrated crop and in shade, Mr. Raghuramulu said. It is a way of rejuvenating greenery in the eastern ghats known for Podu cultivation. The income of tribals started going up after coffee plantation was promoted in Araku and Chintapalli areas in Visakha Agency, he added.

At the summit, Araku Coffee grown in the eastern ghats is also on display.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Hyderabad / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – November 28th, 2017

Coffee Board to promote entrepreneurship

November 29, 2017Business & Economy, Coffee Newsadmin

Coffee winning the hearts of North Indians too

A stall put up by the Coffee Board to showcase different varieties of Indian coffee at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) being held in Hyderabad on Tuesday. (Photo: G Naga Sridhar)

Hyderabad :

The Coffee Board will be promoting entrepreneurship 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) which began here on Tuesday, Y Raghuramulu, Central Coffee Research Institute, said 34 entrepreneurs had successfully launched their businesses in the last one-and-a-half years.

According to B J Ashwin Kumar, Research Chair & Consultant (Promotion), Coffee Board, about 700 were trained in various aspects of coffee business so far.

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

Steady growth in consumption

Consumption of coffee has been steadily growing at about 5 to 6 per cent per annum, Raghuramulu said.

He added: “While South India has been a predominant market, of late the number of coffee lovers in the North has been growing.”

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

Europe is a major destination for Indian shade-grown coffee followed by the US.

Domestic consumption is about 1 lakh tonnes which includes few imported varieties from countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Economy> Agri Business> Global Entrepreneurial Summit / by G. Naga Sridhar / Hyderabad – November 28th, 2017

Mutt gets back 193-acre land

November 27, 2017Business & Economy, Records, Alladmin

The land dispute between Chowreera family and Kannada Mutt in Ammathi Bettageri of Virajpet taluk ended with the authorities handing over the land documents to the Mutt on Saturday.

The family had taken a 193-acre land on lease.

Over a period of time, the family claimed that the said land belongs to them. The dispute eventually entered the court.

Based on the Supreme Court’s judgement, the Virajpet Tahsildar R Govindaraj handed over the documents to the Mutt.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / Siddapura – DH News Service / November 26th, 2017

Coffee exporters wait for global prices to pick up before selling

November 11, 2017Business & Economy, Coffee Newsadmin

With most of the coffee stock exhausted, exporters are waiting for the new crop.

Kochi :

Coffee exporters are not enthused with the early arrival of coffee beans this time, as global prices of the commodity are on a downswing following reports of a good crop in Brazil, its largest producer.

With most of the coffee stock exhausted, exporters are waiting for the new crop. But in a low-price situation, they fear they may not be able to take advantage of an early crop, particularly that of Arabica.

“As the prices are dropping, exporters are not selling, though buyers may be interested. We hope that prices will improve after a few months,” said MP Devaiah, business head of coffee at Allanasons, a major coffee exporter.

The price of coffee in the international market has been declining since August. Arabica futures prices at ICE New York stood at $1.22 per pound on November 1, down by 15-20% from earlier this year. Robusta prices, too, are showing a declining trend.

The picking of arabica beans, which normally start by the end of November, has already begun in the coffee producing states. “This time, it may be completed by the end of November, instead of in December,’’ said MM Chengappa, former chairman of Karnataka Planters’ Association. Harvest of robusta is expected to begin a month earlier, in December.

Coffee growers fear that the heavy rains last month have led to a fall of berries on a large scale.

Although the post blossom estimate of the Coffee Board projects an output of 3,50,400 tonnes for 2017-18, growers feel output will be less by a large margin. According to them, delayed monsoon will affect the robusta production.

“Total output will be about 3.12 lakh tonnes, similar to last year. Robusta will be around 2.10 lakh tonnes, against 2.47 lakh tonnes projected by the Board,’’ Chengappa said.

source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / ET Home> Markets> Commodities> News / ET Bureau / November 03rd, 2017

Coffee industry seeks review of GST

November 7, 2017Agriculture, Business & Economy, Coffee News, Coffee, Kodagu (Coorg), Famous Personalities of Kodagu / Coorgadmin

The high GST rate, besides bringing down instant coffee consumption, would also have a significant impact on the coffee farmers of South India

New Delhi / Bengaluru :

The coffee industry has sought a review of the GST rates on instant coffee and the curing process, while stating that such high rates would hurt consumption and, eventually, growers’ realisations.

Coffee growers are under pressure as the volatile trend in global prices, which directly influence local prices, has already kept their realisations in check.

The GST on instant coffee has been fixed at 28 per cent, while the curing or dry processing of the beans attracts a levy of 18 per cent.

Parity sought with tea

Making a case for reduction in GST on instant coffee, The India Coffee Trust, represented by various stakeholders from the sector, has appealed to the Prime Minister’s Office to bring it down to 18 per cent, on par with the instant tea.

Anil Kumar Bhandari, President, ICT, in a letter to the PMO, said the high GST rate, besides bringing down instant coffee consumption in the country, would also have a significant impact on the coffee farmers of Karnataka and South India, since instant coffee manufactures will source less raw coffee from them.

According to the ICT, of the 3.46 lakh tonnes of raw coffee produced in the country, about 2.78 lakh tonnes is exported, while the rest is consumed domestically.

Of the 0.78 lakh tonnes consumed domestically, about 50,000 tonnes is used in the form of roast and ground, while the remaining 28,000 is consumed as instant coffee.

South India accounts for the bulk of the coffee consumption, though off-take has picked up in the northern States in recent years.

The Trust said instant coffee is largely consumed by poor consumers and the cost per cup is lower when compared to the roast and ground.

It also said that higher tax would impede the development of the coffee habit in North and East India.

Seeking a cure

Meanwhile, the All India Coffee Curers Association has demanded the withdrawal of 18 per cent GST levied on coffee curing.

Curing involves dry processing and grading of green coffee beans.

As curing is an investment-intensive process, the majority of coffee growers normally outsource the dry processing of the green beans to curing works, where they are processed, graded and sorted.

“Any levy on curing would eventually hit farm-gate prices, thereby reducing growers’ realisations. The government should withdraw the levy,” said AN Devaraj, President of the All India Coffee Curers Association.

Farm-gate price worries

Coffee growers are concerned about how the impact of the GST levy on curing will influence farm-gate prices, even as the early harvesting of the arabica variety has begun in parts of Kodagu and Chikmagalur, the main growing regions.

“The GST on curing may impact farm-gate prices. With the season yet to start in full swing, it is too early to quantify the impact,” said HT Pramod, Chairman of the Karnataka Planters’ Association.

Arabica prices are hovering between ₹7,000 and ₹7,200 per 50-kg bag for the parchment, while arabica cherry prices are in the ₹3,700-4,000 per bag range, lower than last year.

“We are waiting for clarity on this issue. No sale of coffee from the new crop has taken place as growers are not in a hurry to sell as prices are low,” said N Bose Mandanna, a grower in Kodagu.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Economy> AgriBusiness / by KR Srivats & Vishwanath Kulkarni / October 30th, 2017

Conference of Urinary Tract Surgeons at Virajpet from Nov 3

October 30, 2017Business & Economy, Science & Technologyadmin

Mysuru :

Karnataka Urinary Tract Surgeons’ Association and Mysuru Urinary Tract Surgeons’ Association is jointly organising the 22nd conference of Urinary Tract Surgeons at Virajpet from November 3 to 5, said Dr Prakash K Prabhu, organising president of the conference, at a press meet held at Mysuru Press Club here on Monday.

“Titular king Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar will inaugurate the 3-day long conference at Club Mahindra Resort on November 3 at 5:30 pm. Srikantha Siddalinga Raje Urs of Manteswamy Mutt will release a souvenir on the occasion. Robotic expert from Gujarat Dr Pranjal Modi will be the chief guest and will deliver a special lecture,” he added.

Dr Madappa, Dr H S Prakash, Dr H M Prasad and others were present.

-(MR/KMR)
source: http://www.citytoday.new / City Today / Home> Headlines> Mysore / CT Bureau / October 30th, 2017

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