ANANTAPUR: Fluctuations in global coffee market have led to rise in prices of coffee powder across the world. Prices have also gone up a couple of days ago in India, which produces rich quality and quantity of coffee, by at least ₹ 100 per kg of first quality filter coffee powder.
Incidentally, prices have been hiked for the first time after seven years.
Coffee seed production was hit last year due to impact of Coronavirus. Due to shortage of labour, farmers were unable to harvest coffee nuts. Neither could preparatory activities be taken up for making coffee beans ready for consumption.
Chikmagalur district of North Karnataka is famous for its coffee estates, while few tribal areas in Visakhapatnam of AP also produce quality coffee in the country.
Narayana Bhat, a native of Chikmagalur who established a retail coffee powder shop in Anantapur, said after production got hit badly last year, it has led to an increase in coffee prices across the world.
Brazil, the country that also has large coffee estates, too suffered loss of production due to deficit rainfall in the last season. This also led to increase in coffee prices across the world and in India.
Raghavendra Rao, a wholesale coffee seller in Anantapur district, says they have been going by prices fixed by the international market for the past five years. Though commercial gas, labour charges and shop rentals had abnormally increased during past seven years, sellers had no choice but abide by the international prices whether in wholesale or retail markets.
In addition to coffee powder, prices of chicory powder that is normally blended with coffee powder, have also gone up. A kilogram of chicory powder, which was around ₹ 1,200–1,500 in the market, has gone up to ₹ 2,350 a couple of days ago.
Keeping all these in view, there is a demand from consumers that instead of relying on global prices, coffee powder rates should be fixed locally within India based on its production of seeds.
As per an estimate, a coffee-drinking family normally uses about two kg of coffee powder in a month.
