Under the resurrected circular, coffee growers will have to pay the state government a land cess of Rs 1,600 per acre as against the present cess of Rs 16, according to planters' associations. This means coffee growers will have to give up coffee plantations and migrate elsewhere. According to reports, the deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah was irked after a protest show by coffee growers against certain taxes when he visited a coffee-growing area in the state when HD Deve Gowda was the chief minister. The new land cess is being forced upon the growers in retaliation to the years-old protest during the Deve Gowda regime.

Planters are reported to have asked their associations to move thecourts in this regard and get some kind of relief to save themselves from the clutches of the state government's land revenue policy.

Observers of the coffee-growing districts in Karnataka, which accounts for 70 per cent of Indian coffee production with Kerala and Tamil Nadu sharing the rest of the production, are not hopeful about the 1998-99 market scenario.

Meanwhile, Brazil is likely to pump in 36 million bags of coffee this year which accounts for about 35 per cent of global coffee production.

The Brazilian weather prospects have not foreseen any big damage due to frost which means weather across Brazil is favourable to coffee. This is in negative comparison with Indian weather scenario this season when people's representatives have already started making representations to the Centre regarding damages at large owing to excessive rains so far in 1998.

Authorities at the coffee growers societies have been expecting Brazil to flood the international market with consignments during July and August98 with a lower price tag.

International coffee market is weak since all major traders are awaiting the Brazilian bumper coffee to hit the market which will be cheaper.

Normally, over 80 per cent of Indian coffee growers cannot afford to wait for good prices and release their produce during April itself when they will have to repay the loans they have taken from coffee societies. While Brazil offers 12 to 17 cents discount per pound of coffee, India offers discounts up to five cents per pound which can be another deterrent for the Indian coffee to move competitively in the global market.

Indian robusta coffee was once in the premium grade whereas, now, owing to large-scale of estate-pounded coffee (EP coffee), Indian coffee has downgraded itself to the discount category from the premium category.