Govt should fix MSP for coffee: Cong leader

Madikeri Mahila Congress president Hotteuanda Parvathi Fancy urged the Central and state governments to come to the rescue of coffee planters who are in distress.

She has stated that the recent budget by the Central government has disappointed the coffee growers. The budget has totally ignored the coffee sector which brings crores of rupees of foreign exchange to India.

The governments should fix the minimum support price for coffee and should announce a special package for the coffee planters, she said.

The state government should consider the issues of coffee growers and should provide them with necessary assistance in the upcoming state budget, said Parvathi.

She further said, "The price of Robusta coffee has reached a record low in the last 25 years. The growers are worried about the maintenance of their plantations. A quantity of 50 kg of Robusta cherries is fetching only Rs 2,900 to Rs 3,100 for the growers. Considering the expenses incurred by the planters, this amount is negligible. They incur Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh for the maintenance per acre of the coffee plantation. If they get only 20 bags of coffee produce per acre, they have to grow the crop without any profit. The planters are worried about the fall in the market price. If this continues, like paddy, the growers will lose interest in coffee as well."

The Madikeri Mahila Congress president pointed out that natural calamities, untimely rainfall, wild animal menace and skyrocketing maintenance costs have pushed the coffee growers to the brink.

The elected representatives from the district should raise the issues of coffee growers in the Legislative Assembly, Council and on the floor of the Parliament, to draw the attention of the government and to provide a solution for the coffee growers, she said and added that the coffee planters have a lot of expectations from the state budget.