Domestic coffee consumption to top 3.2 lakh tn by 2012

In order to protect the interests of coffee growers, there is a need to shift focus from exports and stress more on the domestic consumption, G V Krishna Rau, chairman, Coffee Board of India, said today.

As a nodal agency, Coffee Board has submitted various proposals and initiatives to the government for raising domestic consumption and the same has been accepted at various levels in the government, Rau said.

Government is willing to protect the interest of coffee growers to any extent, as it would generate huge employment potential for those growers whose livelihood depends on coffee industry, he said.

Elaborating further, Rau said: "Our focus has always been exports. If there is huge production in any other country, it would have an impact on prices and realisations would come down. We need to protect interest of growers as the sustainability of the entire coffee chain will start with the sustainability of growers."

Out of the estimated 120,000 tonne production by end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007-2012), Coffee Board expects domestic consumption to top 320,000 tonne, he said. Domestic consumption of coffee during financial year 2005-06 was 80,000 tonne while production was 275,000 tonne.