Coffee production may rise by 6% next year

India's coffee production is estimated to go up by 6 per cent to 3.08 lakh tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year starting October, with expectations of better yields from Kerala and Karnataka.

According to Coffee Board's post-blossom estimate for the next crop year, 2.08 lakh tonnes would be of the Robusta variety and the remaining, Arabica.

India produced 2.89 lakh tonnes of coffee in the 2009-10 crop year (October-September), of which Robusta accounted for 1.95 lakh tonnes and Arabica for 94,600 tonnes.

"The maximum rise in production of coffee this year is expected in Karnataka, followed by Kerala -- where good rains last year helped healthy blossoming and fruit bearing," a senior Coffee Board official said.

The Board hopes that the Chikmagalur, Kodagu and Hassan districts of Karnataka would produce 6,000 tonnes more coffee next year, at 2.19 lakh tonnes, while Kerala produces 65,775 tonnes in 2010-11.

Tamil Nadu is expected to produce 16,500 tonnes of coffee during the ensuing crop year, the Board said, adding that non-traditional coffee-producing areas like Andhra Pradesh and Orissa would produce 6,100 tonnes, up from 5,300 tonnes during the last crop year.

The Coffee Exporters Association of India had earlier said that as the country would get adequate rains, the total coffee production for 2010-11 was likely to reach around three lakh tonnes.

India is the fifth-largest coffee producer in the world and the third-largest in Asia.