The Girijan Cooperative Corporation on Sunday launched the Araku Valley Coffee in retail form and raw coffee pooling under Paderu Coffee Project sanctioned by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with an outlay of Rs.526.16 crore.
Taking part at a function organised in Visakhapatnam to launch the twin programmes, Social Welfare, Tribal Welfare, and Empowerment Minister Ravella Kishore Babu said the government had directed the GCC to initiate measures to weed out brokers (middlemen) by procuring and marketing organic coffee grown in the Agency areas.
The GCC announced a pooling rate at Rs.180 per kg for Arabica Parchment and Rs.92 per kg for Arabica Cherry coffee during the current year – almost double than what the middlemen used to pay earlier.
Mr. Kishore Babu said that the middlemen were estimated to have looted almost Rs.700 crore from the tribal coffee farmers during the past 10 years by paying them peanuts for their produce.
Remunerative
“Now, under Paderu Coffee Project, the yield will go up and remunerative price and marketing mechanism are guaranteed to sell the produce in the retail market in the two Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh,” he said.
Some 7,000 tonne coffee is grown every year in the tribal tracts of Paderu in an area of one lakh acres by 96,337 tribal farmers.
An additional area of one lakh acres will be brought under coffee plantation, for which the Integrated Tribal Development Agency has been asked to identify suitable land.
“We are very happy that our livelihood will improve significantly with the government deciding to grow coffee in more areas and provide us remunerative price,” K. Ramana, a coffee grower from Sunkarametta near Araku Valley told The Hindu .
High demand in U.K, U.S.
Paderu and Araku coffee are high in demand in the U.K., the U.S., and several parts of Europe. Till date, there has been no effort by either private or government agencies to market organic coffee in the retail market. The aroma and flavour are recognised outside, but not known among coffee lovers of the two Telugu States, according to ITDA Project Officer M. Harinarayan.
Consumer packs
GCC Vice-Chairman-cum-Managing Director Ravi Prakash said that they launched the Araku Valley Coffee in 50 gram, 100 gram, 200 gram, and 500 gram consumer packs.
He said they would market the coffee in other States in the next phase.
The GCC will open an exclusive outlet for coffee at its head office in the city.
The GCC achieved a turnover of Rs.14 crore last year through sale of value-added products in the retail market.
This year, it has set a target to achieve a turnover of Rs.20 crore.
With the retail sales of Araku Coffee, it is expected to go up to Rs.25 crore.
The GCC has set a target to achieve an overall turnover of Rs.180 crore during current fiscal as against Rs.142 crore last year.