Set up big roasting facilities for coffee, India Govt to pvt players

New Delhi, Jan 19 (PTI) The Indian government has asked the country's Coffee Board and private players to set up big roasting facilities to push up consumption and help small growers. "We have to ensure that the small coffee growers feel assured of production and support of insurance cover.... What I have been told is that we do not have big roasting facilities and there the private sector and the Coffee Board need to work together closely," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said at the inauguration of the three-day long India International Coffee Festival 2012 here Wednesday. The minister also invited global players to explore the Indian coffee sector as it provided huge opportunities. For small coffee growers, Sharma said there is a need to create an environment of trust and confidence to attract more people in the sector. In the 2010-11 fiscal ended March 31, 2011, overseas shipments of the coffee rose by 50 per cent to 294,000 tonnes compared to 196,000 tonnes in the 2009-10 financial year. However, Coffee Board expects exports to come down in the current fiscal. The board estimates coffee exports in the 2011-12 fiscal to drop by 14 per cent to 240,000 -250,000 tonnes. India mostly exports coffee to Italy, Germany, the Russian Federation, Belgium and Spain. PTI Caption for pic: India's Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma shaking hands with International Coffee Organization Executive Director Roberio Oliveira Silva during the inauguration of India International Coffee Festival 2012, in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo