Budget 2012: Coffee plantations will benefit from decision to reduce import tariff

Coffee plantations plagued by labour shortage will benefit from the decision to reduce the import tariff on coffee machines from 7.5% to 5%. Coffee Board chairman Jawaid Akthar said it would provide impetus for more growers to adopt machinery in coffee plantations, which are concentrated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Coffee Board already has some subsidy schemes for the machinery.

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``It has been a long standing demand of the industry and we had asked duty reduction for tea as well,'' said R Sanjith, head of commodities of The United Planters' Association of Southern India.

Leading coffee grower Anil Bhandari said it will give a fillip to the coffee sector by bringing coffee machinery within the reach of average of middle class. ``The machinery include brewing, roasting and grinding equipment used by domestic and retail sector. It could be now within the reach of a middle class housewife,'' he said. With the duty cut, the price of the machinery could come down to around Rs 5000, he added.

Coffee Board has been promoting coffee in the non-traditional areas of North India. The efforts of the Coffee Board has met with succees as the growth in North Indian markets has been higher than in the southern markets, where there has been a saturation.