India Hopes For Sustained Price Increases To Help Coffee Growers Clear Debts And Build Infrastructure – CoffeeTalk

High coffee prices in Karnataka, India, have caused a surge in consumption and financial strain for coffee planters. However, growers are concerned that the focus on new cars or renovated houses may overlook the structural problems facing the industry. Representatives from the Karnataka Planters’ Association (KPA) and United Planters’ Association of South India (UPASI) hope that higher coffee prices will help the sector recover from its current financial struggles.

The sudden surge in prices should help repay loans, fund reinvestment plans, and rebuild damaged plantations due to climatic vagaries like landslides and wildlife attacks. The high prices are helping growers repay debts and build a financial reserve to safeguard their livelihoods.

Planters are also cautious about the future as conditions in Brazil and Vietnam return to normalcy, which have pushed up global coffee prices. Marvin Rodrigues, a coffee planter and former chairperson of KPA, emphasized the need for growers to take up replanting borer-infested plants, improve water-storage tanks, ponds, and irrigation systems.

Another challenge faced by coffee growers is the scarcity of skilled laborers. Nearly 60% of the total expenditure on a plantation goes towards labour costs, including state government-mandated wages and additional benefits such as free housing, electricity, and medical facilities. Traditional labourers from North Karnataka districts have stopped coming, and labour from the north and north-eastern states is not as skilled.

Additionally, growing incidents of human-wildlife conflict, such as elephants and bisons causing significant damage to coffee crops, are adding to the stress faced by growers.

Read More @ The Times of India