State-owned Coffee Board may take another fortnight to cut its output forecast from 276,000 tonnes for the year ending September 2009, as it is "assessing the situation in a minute way".
"The board is in the process of finalising the report after assessing the situation in a minute way. But the forecast may be made at least after 15 days," a senior government official said.
Earlier last month, the Board had indicated that it might have to trim its production forecast of 276,000 tonnes, citing damage to crops due to excessive rains in the largest-producing state of Karnataka.
"Production this season (October-September) is set to decline from the post-blossom estimate (in November) of 276,000 tonnes. Though it is difficult to (assess) the exact fall, the output may be around 2.60 lakh tonnes," a senior Coffee Board official had said.
The downward projection of output in the third-largest coffee producer in Asia may spell further trouble for its exporters, already reeling under the economic slowdown, as India ships abroad 80 per cent of the coffee produced in the country.
Indian coffee has evoked lukewarm response from overseas buyers in the first two months of the calendar year 2009, with exports declining 13 per cent to 29,035 tonnes due to poor demand for instant coffee and value-added products, caused by global economic recession.
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The country's coffee exports, comprising provisional export and value-added products, stood at 33,541 tonnes till February-end 2008, according to the Board's data.
Russia, Commonwealth countries and Germany are India's major coffee markets.