Coffee out put to drop by 10 per cent due to crop loss: Coffee Board

Bangalore, Dec 28 (UNI) Due to excessive rain and gale winds during the just ended South-west monsoon in the major coffee growing state of Karntaka and Kerala the country's coffee output is likely to drop by 9.97 per cent during the current year. a Coffee Board report said here today.

The total coffee production is likely to drop to 2.67 lakh tonnes over the previous post-blossom estimate of 2.91 lakh tonnes, the Coffee Board said in its report on 'Post-monsoon coffee crop forecast for 2007-08'.

Heavy rains coupled with strong wind has damaged coffee crop in both the states. Karnataka had witnessed heavy production loss of 71 per cent followed by Kerala at 28 per cent, the report said.

Coffee Board Deputy Director Radha Krishnan said in the report that crop damage due to heavy rains and would also have adverse effect on the country's exports. Arabica production was likely to decline by 8.19 per cent at 92,500 tonnes and robusta by 10.91 per cent at 1.69 lakh tonnes over the post-blossom forecast in the country.

In Karnataka, the highest producer of coffee in the country, production of coffee was likely to fall by 10 per cent at 1.91 lakh tonnes against post-blossom production estimate of 2.12 lakh tonnes.

In Kerala, the output may decline by 14.26 per cent at 49,000 tonnes against previous post-blossom production projection of 57,150 tonnes, it said.

Apart from heavy rains, mist had resulted in incidences of blackrot and stalkrot diseases, which would cause the decline in production, the report said.

However, Tamil Nadu had a good South West monsoon and its coffee output is estimated at 18,100 tonnes. In non-traditional coffee growing states such as Orissa, AP, and North East, production was estimated at 3,325 tonnes, the report added.

UNI