Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal sips coffee at Raja Seat on Friday, on the occasion of International Coffee Day
Deputy Commissioner Charulata Somal said that the International Coffee Day celebrated in Kodagu, highlights the hard work of coffee growers, which is behind the taste of coffee.
She was speaking during the International Coffee Day programme observed by Rotary Misty Hills, at Raja Seat, on Friday.
The deputy commissioner added, “I got to know about every detail of coffee cultivation after I was posted to Kodagu. The dedication and effort by coffee growers in producing the best quality of coffee is commendable.”
Rotary Misty Hills president Anitha Poovaiah said that more than 1,500 visitors at Raja Seat were served coffee on account of International Coffee Day.
Rotary Deputy Governor H T Anil said that the quantity of coffee powder used by a person in India is 4 to 5 kg per year whereas, in a foreign country, a person uses 15 kg of coffee powder annually.
Therefore, there is a need to increase the usage of coffee in India, he added.
Misty Hills project director Devanira Tilak also spoke on the occasion.
Madikeri CMC commissioner Ramdas, horticulture department deputy director Sridhar, senior assistant director Pramod, Coffee Board deputy director Shivakumar Swamy and others were present.
‘Coffee export’
Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha distributed free coffee at various places in Madikeri on account of International Coffee Day.
The Coffee Day observed at Tadka House on Raja Seat Road was inaugurated by Kodava Samaja president K S Devaiah.
When the coffee industry was in distress women had started a unit to instil confidence in coffee growers in the district. The sangha has been promoting coffee consumption, said K S Devaiah.
Women have been actively engaged in managing coffee plantations and the industry. Kodagu’s coffee is known for its taste, he said.
Kodagu Coffee Growers’ Cooperative Society president M B Devaiah said the society is the largest coffee cooperative in Asia.
It is now mulling about exporting coffee and requires financial assistance from the government for exports, he added.
Advocate Pasura Preetham said the International Coffee Day is being observed since 2015.
Dr Mohan Appaji said that the consumption of coffee by those above 40 years is good for health.
Kodagu Mahila Coffee Jagruthi Sangha president Chitra Subbaiah, general secretary Anitha Nanda and others were present.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Madikeri / October 01st, 2021
The issue was discussed, among other things, in an interaction of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with coffee growers, roasters, exporters and other stakeholders at Coffee Board Head Office, Bengaluru.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. (File)
The government will relook at the coffee law to make it suitable as per the present needs of the sector and facilitate its growth, the commerce ministry said on Saturday.
The issue was discussed, among other things, in an interaction of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal with coffee growers, roasters, exporters and other stakeholders at Coffee Board Head Office, Bengaluru.
Coffee growers expressed concerns over losing their lands in view of the notices issued by banks under the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> India / by ENS, Economic Bureau, New Delhi / September 19th, 2021
Moving our way right across the country towards the west, we go to Coorg from Bengaluru.
Day 22 of the #28States28Plates drive saw us leaving the hustle and bustle of Bengaluru city as we headed to a beautiful hilly region in Karnataka — Coorg. Also known as the Scotland of India, Coorg is famous for its coffee plantations, chilly climate and the amazing views.
There are three ways to get to Coorg from Bengaluru and because of our tight schedule, (the real reason was we just couldn’t wait to get there), we took the shortest route which passes through cities like Ramanagara (silk city) and Channapatna (city of toys). This highway is christened NH275, but the locals know it simply as Mysore road.
All the three routes from Bengaluru join-in at Mysore. It is to be noted that if you are taking the route we took, be ready to face a lot of diversions as some parts of this highway are still under construction.
After crossing Mysore, the road turned into a two-lane winding stretch of smooth tarmac with trees on both sides! It definitely was a sight to behold.
Now, our destination for the day was a town called Yevakapadi, situated in the hills of Coorg.
We reached there by lunchtime, at Bungalow 1934, where a friend of evo India, Amrith, had kindly invited us for lunch at his super famous estate — Bungalow 1934.
A place so pretty, a certain Gordon Ramsay chose to shoot his show Uncharted here!
We were in awe of the beautiful views from Amrith’s estate and just as we thought it couldn’t get better, Amrith set up a traditional Coorgi cuisine buffet for us. Pandi curry (pork stew), bamboo shoot curry, colocasia curry — a few of the dishes we enjoyed, along with a view to die for. To wash it all down was prepared-on-the-farm coffee liqueur and some bird’s eye chilli wine.
After that wonderful lunch, we headed to our abode for the night. King’s Cottage, a place situated just 15km from Amrith’s estate, but by the time we reached and rested for a bit, it was time for dinner time. So, the kind folks at King’s Cottage setup a much needed bonfire for us to enjoy our dinner. We were treated to simple but oh-so-delicious veg food with a view of the clouds, touched by bright moonlight, settling right in front of us in the valley. After chilling our bones to the cool blowing winds, we went straight to bed in our cozy little cottage.
This place was certainly a good detox from the city life and we loved it so much that we decided to take day 23 off for some rest.
Is Coorg a haven in the hills? We’d certainly say so!
Day 24 will see us reach the west coast of the country, Mangalore — via Kasargod.
source: http://www.evoindia.com / EvoIndia.com / Home/ by Team Evo India / August 22nd, 2021
While the price of Arabica variety has increased in the international market, many planters of Kodagu are reluctant to maintain this variety of the crop.
Arabica coffee plant (Photo| EPS)
Madikeri :
The changing rainfall and weather pattern in Kodagu is affecting the coffee plantations – especially the Arabica variety of coffee.
While the price of Arabica variety has increased in the international market, many planters of Kodagu are reluctant to maintain this variety of the crop due to the challenges faced following the changing weather patterns.
“Coffee growers in the district have faced immense losses since the past three years. And the Arabica variety of coffee has become unmanageable and a small coffee grower cannot sustain this crop anymore,” shared K Subbaiah, a coffee grower in Chettalli.
He had grown Arabica varieties of plants across eight acres of land and he explained, “I had taken up inter-cropping of Arabica and Robusta varieties across 11 acre. However, I have removed all the Arabica crops in the nearly eight acre estate as I am unable to sustain these crops.”
He shared that the untimely rains has resulted in the Arabica crops yielding beans way before the picking period. “The coffee beans have ripened during this August. How can one pick these beans in the rain and where can one dry these beans?” he questioned.
The Arabica variety normally bore ripened beans in the month of September and they were to be picked during November. However, the changing rain pattern has immensely affected the crop and like Subbaiah, many small coffee growers are removing the Arabica crop variety following immense losses, despite the hike in the price in the international market.
Former vice president of Coffee Board, Dr Kaverappa shared that the Arabica variety is increasingly prone to black rot disease, resulting in its downfall. “Arabica variety is increasingly found in the North Kodagu belt. However, the untimely rains and floods have affected the crops. While there is an immense shortage of Arabic beans and demand for the same has increased in the international market, the production of Arabica variety is less in the district due to the challenges faced by the growers in marinating these varieties,” he explained.
He hoped for the government’s support to the coffee sector and said that insurance to coffee crops and reintroduction of subsidies to the machineries must be enabled to promote and support the sector.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States>Karnataka / by Pragna GR, Express News Service / August 29th, 2021
This week, Rage Coffee announced that it has raised $5 million in series A funding. A look at the company’s plans, including new launches, key markets and corporate tie-ups.
Bharat Sethi is the Delhi-based founder of Rage Coffee. He says that nearly 75% of the company’s sales are from parts of the country other than South India.
Rage Coffee has seen growth zoom during the pandemic, as people confined to their homes ordered and drank more coffee . Earlier this week, the New Delhi-based FMCG coffee startup announced that it had raised $5 million as part of its A series funding round led by Sixth Sense Ventures. In April 2021, it had raised an undisclosed amount from investors led by Refex Capital.
The company, founded in 2018, targets millennials. Around 75% of its sales come through online channels, and the rest through the offline route. It sells instant coffee, ground coffee and cold brew bags of coffee in flavours like Irish hazelnut, crème caramel and mint mocha.
In an interview, Rage Coffee founder and CEO Bharat Sethi spoke about the company’s growth during the pandemic period, development of new products including filter coffee, potential tie-ups and strategy to expand abroad. Excerpts:
How has the pandemic affected sales? Is Rage Coffee’s growth continuing after the second wave?
When the pandemic began, we were well positioned with quality coffee products using arabica beans. With more people ordering online, we doubled our marketing efforts paving the way to leapfrog the growth. From 2020-21 we grew ten times. From April to August this year, we have seen three times growth so far.
We are expecting a revenue of Rs 35 crore this fiscal compared to Rs 5 crore last year. The annualised recurring return will be much higher, in the range of Rs 65-75 crore.
Usually, instant coffee makers use robusta coffee beans. Has using the costlier arabica beans helped you in the domestic market, which, apart from South India, prefers tea to coffee?
The market is changing with availability of good products. Nearly 75% of our sales are from parts of the country other than South India. From our research, we knew that caffeine kick and sensory aspects like taste and aroma are equally important for a coffee drinker. So, we decided to use arabica beans that provide good flavour and aroma.
Our products provide 90 to 120 mg of caffeine in a single serving, compared with 30 to 40 mg of many other instant coffees available in the market. It is comparable to high-end roasted coffee. We use crystallised freeze-drying process to preserve the aroma… We source coffee beans from Coorg and Chikmagalur, and from Ethiopia.
South India prefers filter coffee mostly. Considering that majority of your sales are from outside the region, do you have plans to offer filter coffee?
Yes, we are planning to launch it by the first week of September. It will be a blend of robusta and chicory with a dash of bitterness. We believe that if made in the right manner, it will have demand in the entire country. It will be our first robusta coffee product and one more addition to the ground coffee category.
What is the size of your institutional sales? Do you have corporate tie-ups?
Of our institutional sales, 80% goes to the hotel, restaurant and catering (Horeca) segment. We are exploring the possibility of tie-ups with corporates. In most cases, we can’t come to an agreement on the prices. Many organisations have coffee-vending machines, a segment we have not ventured into yet. But we have plans to enter the coffee equipment business later. However, our products find increasing use in corporate gifting.
Are you looking at associating with airlines or railways?
Yes, we are in talks with Spice Jet and Indian Railways. Pricing is the issue. But we think we can offer products cheaply with some changes. We need to change the packaging and weight without compromising on the quality of the product. We may have to use plastic packets, which could help avoid damage during shipment. We can cover the risk of lower margin through huge volumes. At present, the company uses natural materials for packaging.
Do you plan to expand outside the country?
We have presence in the US and in the UK in Europe. The instant coffee segment in the US is growing rapidly because of convenience aspect. We sell through Amazon and through independent retailers and specialty stores. Europe is not as big a coffee drinking nation as America.
We are also starting out in the Gulf region through the UAE. The region has a mix of instant coffee and commercial coffee equipment drinkers. Instant coffee has a good market in Saudi Arabia, where we have signed up with a distributor, and are in the process of dispatching the consignment.
Any new products in the pipeline?
We are looking at coffee concentrates, chewables, snacking and supplement items. Right now, 75% of the coffee sales is controlled by a few multinationals. With some products we have and some we are planning to launch, we will be directly competing with them. We are also in the process of R&D for introducing new flavours.
source: http://www.moneycontrol.com / MoneyControl.com / Home> News> Trends> Features / by PK Krishnakumar / August 24th, 2021
Estate owners urged to discourage it over COVID-19 fears.
Amidst the growing fears of an impending third wave of pandemic, it has now come to light that workers from Kerala bordering Kutta village in Kodagu were being employed in coffee estates and are shuttling daily by foot for work.
The State government has made it mandatory for those coming into the State from Kerala to carry an RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hours irrespective of whether the travellers were vaccinated – either first or both doses of vaccine.
When former Speaker and Virajpet MLA K.G. Bopaiah visited the checkpost at Kutta on Tuesday to oversee the COVID-19 surveillance at the border over a spike in cases in the neighbouring State, he came to know about workers belonging to a Kerala village bordering Kodagu coming daily to Kutta by foot to work in the estates.
Mr. Bopaiah advised the coffee estate owners to provide accommodation to the workers after complying with the guidelines in case they have emergency works in their plantations and would like to employ workers from Kerala.
As per the district administration’s order, persons from Kerala travelling daily to Kodagu must carry out COVID-19 test once in 15 days and always carry the RT-PCR negative report with them. It is not clear whether the employers were cross-checking the details while engaging them in their estates.
“The task force set up in each gram panchayat must look into all various aspects for controlling COVID-19 in the border villages. It must work on preventing daily commuting of workers from Kerala to the border estates. This can help prevent the COVID-19 spread,” he opined.
The staff roped in from various departments for work at the checkposts in Karike, Kutta, Makutta and Sampaje in Kodagu have been categorically told to ensure that no vehicle enters the State without the travellers producing valid RT-PCR negative report not older than 72 hours.
The district officials have been told to continue with the guidelines issued based on the test positivity rate which is currently below 5 per cent. If the TPR crosses 5 per cent, stricter measures were needed.
About 40-50 vehicles from Kerala cross the border at Kutta daily.
source: http:// www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – August 03rd, 2021
A file photo of a server collecting coffee from a container in a restaurant. | Photo Credit: K. Murali Kumar
‘Nations should jointly combat issues in coffee sector’
Coffee growing countries, India, Brazil, and South Africa, should collaborate to combat common challenges they face such as global price volatility, high cost of production, and labour shortage, suggested International Coffee Organisation (ICO).
At the opening session of the two-day IBSA Coffee Festival on Wednesday, ICO executive director Jose Sette said India, Brazil, and South Africa had several opportunities to work together to address common issues they face in the coffee growing, processing, and marketing fronts.
India produced over 3,20,000 tonnes of green coffee in the last harvest season that ended in March 2021. Karnataka alone accounts for over 70% of the country’s total coffee production, with Kodagu, Chikkamagaluru, and Hassan districts being the State’s coffee heartlands.
Coffee Board chairman M.S. Boje Gowda said, “It is great that we are joining hands with the international coffee community to improve the coffee scene of India and this exercise means a lot for coffee farmers across the country, and especially for an army of them in Karnataka.”
Suresh K. Reddy, Ambassador of India in Brazil, said coffee production had increased 34% in that country in the last two decades although the area under production had only reduced. Indian coffee community had to adopt cost-effective growing techniques and yield enhancing practices from Brazil, he recommended.
“We are also looking forward to collaborating with Brazil in enhancing domestic consumption of coffee in India,” said Mr. Reddy. India’s per capita coffee consumption is around 200 grams while it is 6 kg in Brazil.
Mr. Reddy further said time had come for the commodity apex body, Coffee Board, to position itself as a holistic organisation for the overall development, promotion, and growth of Indian coffee.
Jaideep Sarkar, High Commissioner of India in South Africa, said under the free trade agreements of WTO regime, it was tough for individual governments to promote their own coffees beyond a point and therefore working together was the best option for the global coffee growing community.
Andre Aranha Correa do Lago, Ambassador of Brazil in New Delhi, said, India was beginning to see a lot of speciality coffee coming via exports and this would open up newer opportunities for coffee entrepreneurs in India to process, value add, and re-export.
“We want to be part of the growing India coffee story and IBSA is an ideal platform for a unique partnership between these coffee producing countries,” Mr. Lago added.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Mini Tejaswi / Bengaluru – August 05th, 2021
White stem borers destroying a coffee plant. Credit: DH Photo
Arabica and Robusta coffee varieties grown in Kodagu are known for their quality.
Robusta variety is grown mostly in Madikeri and Virajpet taluks, while Somwarpet is known for arabica coffee.
The weather of Somwarpet is the best suited for the arabica variety, say the growers.
However, there are a lot of challenges before arabica coffee growers, the major one being the infestation of white stem borer (Xylotrechus quadripes).
The adult borers feed on the stem of the coffee plant and lay eggs inside the stem. Their season of reproduction is the months of March and April. During this period, the stem borers lay eggs on all plants in the coffee plantation.
In Somwarpet taluk, coffee is grown on 28,540 hectares of land. Arabica coffee is grown on 22,940 hectares and robusta is grown on 5,600 hectares.
Many growers have been switching to robusta as arabica is infested by the white stem borer.
Fed up by the borer menace, the plantation owners themselves have been asking the workers to uproot the arabica coffee plants that were nurtured for many years.
A lack of proper control measures is also one of the main reason for the growers to destroy the plants.
The arabica variety of coffee requires more care as compared to robusta. Meanwhile, the labour cost and the production costs are increasing, among other expenses towards manure and fertilisers.
Adding to the problem, the market rate is also disappointing the farmers.
Control measures
Experts have come up with a technique to trap female borer, by using the artificial pheromones of male borer insects, say authorities of the coffee board.
B R Jayendra, a coffee planter from Bettadalli, said that the control measure of white borer is consuming a lot of time, in the existing methods available.
By the time the borers are controlled, almost all plants are destroyed. Effective control measures are needed to save arabica coffee.
Taluk Coffee Growers’ Association president Mohan Bopanna said that the coffee planters are going through difficult times.
Like the Kerala model, the Karnataka government too should announce support price for coffee growers. The loans of coffee growers who are facing difficulties should be waived, he added.
Another coffee planter S M D’Silva from Abburukatte said it is almost impossible to destroy the affected plants at a time.
The small grower will be hit hard if they destroy all coffee saplings in the plantation, he said.
source: http:///www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> State> Mangaluru / by DHNS, Somwarpet / June 28th, 2021
Growers agree not to bring workers to estates from other places until June 21 as a measure to control the spread of infection
Coffee workers in Kodagu will soon get the jabs against COVID-19 with the authorities planning to launch vaccination drive in plantations for making the coffee land safe from the pandemic.
The support of large plantations and companies operating in the district has been sought for making it successful.
Former Speaker and MLA K.G. Bopaiah, who spoke about the vaccination plans, advised the owners of plantations not to use workers returning from COVID-19 Care Centres, after recovering from COVID-19, immediately for work in estates. They must be placed in quarantine for at least a week before redeployment.
“The owners must follow the guidelines and ensure control of the infection. Give priority for saving lives and health. The essential works in estates can be done using the locally available workers,” he said at a growers’ meeting in Madikeri on Thursday.
Various coffee growers’ associations in Kodagu have pledged support to the district administration for making Kodagu COVID-19 free even as the lockdown in the coffee land has been extended till June 21 based on its positivity rate.
The growers have resolved not to bring workers from other places for work in estates across Kodagu until June 21. It was decided to make use of the locally available workers.
Earlier, Mr .Bopaiah, who chaired the meeting, said COVID-19 was coming under control in Kodagu. However, there have been reports of infection being reported among workers coming here for work. “The estate owners must avoid bringing workers from other places for the time being. This measure can help us in fighting the pandemic effectively and preventing the spread,” he observed.
Mr. Bopaiah warned of seizing vehicles ferrying workers from other places.
The growers urged the former Speaker to take a delegation to New Delhi after the lockdown ends to highlight the plight of coffee growers and the difficulties faced by the industry.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – June 11th, 2021
File picture of people from Assam working in a coffee estate near Arehalli in Belur taluk of Hassan district.
Workers from the north-east have not returned, affecting seasonal work ahead of the rainy days
Hundreds of plantation workers in Karnataka, who went to Assam to vote in the Assembly elections held in March-April this year, have not returned, affecting the seasonal work ahead of the rainy days.
Restrictions on public transport as part of the lockdown over the COVID-19 pandemic has not allowed them to travel, though they wish to come back.
Thousands of people from Assam and other neighbouring States in north-east India work in coffee estates of Hassan, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu districts. They stay in the quarters provided by the planters and visit their native places once a year. Whenever elections are held, they take a break from work and travel to exercise their franchise.
Mahesh C.S., former president of Hassan District Planters’ Association, says many planters had not been able to complete tree pruning and plant pruning, mandatory seasonal work ahead of the rains. “Normally, we finish this work before June and keep the ground prepared with medicinal spray and manure. All these works have remained undone,” he said. Planters are forced to depend on local workers, who demand higher wages and work for fewer hours than the Assam workers do, he added. The wages for tree pruning, a skilled job, is around ₹700 to ₹800 a day. For other works, a worker gets around ₹300 to ₹350 in normal circumstances.
B.S. Jairam, former president of Karnataka Growers Federation, who has an estate in Mudigere Ttluk, is worried that the present situation could affect the production of coffee later this year. “The planters are already facing too many problems due to the pandemic. The payments are stuck due to restrictions on shipment and many have not recovered from the loss suffered in the floods in previous years. Only those who could retain workers in their quarters with sufficient supply of ration have completed the seasonal work”, he said.
Over the years local workers hardly stay in estate quarters. They reside in their villages and commute to estates daily by vehicles. But now they cannot do so as there are restrictions on vehicular movement “The police do not allow ferrying workers to estates. Only those settled in the nearby areas reach to the estates by walk and work,” he said.
Besides the people from Assam, many from the north Karnataka districts also work in the estates. They also return to their native places during March-April. This year they too could not return. Prasad Raxidi, a planter at Raxidi in Sakleshpur taluk, said the local workers were getting work and also good pay these days. “Only those who have returned from bigger cities after losing their jobs in the lockdown are not getting jobs that suit them,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Sathish G T / Hassan – June 10th, 2021
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