Devouring profit - International Coffee Organization

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qq 31 in 1999 to Rs 12,000/qq in 2000. A similar situation has occurred with areca nuts
where prices fell from Rs 154/kg in September 1999 to Rs 78/kg a year later. The key
point here is that the Indian agricultural sector is facing a difficult period that is affecting
many crops, coffee included.
Coffee planted areas have increased markedly in India over the last half century. In
1950/51 there were 92,523 hectares; in 1999/00 the total area had grown to 340,306
ha. We see in Figure 21 a very significant increase in total area during the 1970s and
1980s. Arabica increased by about 100,000 hectares whilst robusta rose by 146,000
ha. Areas planted in arabica and robusta are now roughly equal.
Coffee production in India: for the year 1950/51 it was estimated at about 18,893
Hectares
350,000
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
Total Area
Figure 21. Area planted in Coffee. India, 1978 – 1992 32 .
31 Rs 48 = US$1 (2001)
32 Source: Coffee Board, India, 2001
Robusta
Arabica
50-51 70-71 90-91 92-93 94-95 96-97 98-99
Coffee years
metric tonnes while in 2000/01 about 295,000 metric tonnes (Coffee Board, 2000).
Coffee productivity in India: in 1950-51 it was about 255 kg of parchment/ha while in
2000-01 the expected productivity was about 1,084 kg of parchment/ha. This suggests
that crop technology has been responsible for this change in productivity. So even
without expansion in area, there may still be considerable scope for an increase in
total production.
Arabica and robusta are classified according to the post-harvesting method: “washed”
and “non-washed” (naturals), and are classified into 25 grades based on the size of the
bean and on the total number of defects or imperfections (ICO, 1997). Apart from
this system, specialty coffee is now the fastest growing segment and India hopes to