Wellington (Nilgiris), Oct 7: The Coffee Board of India is planning tolaunch a massive integrated coffee promotion campaign in the country, inorder to increase the consumption of coffee. With an estimated outlay of atleast Rs 30 crore for three years, the Board is considering appointing amarket research agency followed by an advertisement agency, for thepromotion of coffee in the domestic market. Speaking to The FinancialExpress, the director, finance, Coffee Board, Sharda Subramanium saidthat in order to enlarge the domestic coffee market, the Board, inconsultation with the private sector, has prepared a comprehensive projectto promote the coffee-drinking habit in the country. Subramanium added thatin order to fund the coffee promotion activities, the Coffee Board hasalready submitted a proposal to the Union Ministry of Commerce forgenerating funds. These funds will come by way of imposing an additionalcess of 50 paise per kg levied on the exports of coffee and will be donethrough the amendment of the Coffee Act. This proposal would help ingenerating funds to the tune of Rs 10 crore per year and is expected to becleared soon by the government, she added.The generic promotion of coffee in the country would rely on promotingcoffee through generic ad-campaigns, as is currently being done for eggs andmilk. The generic promotion project has already been submitted to the UnionMinistry of Commerce and is expected to be cleared soon, she added.
``Any additional release of funds would be welcomed towards domestic coffeepromotion as very little has been done on this front. The Coffee Board hasalso approached the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) for $7.5 millionfunding for the Board's programme of promoting domestic consumption. The ICOhas funded similar programmes in China and Russia and will definitelyconsider doing the same for India as well,'' she added.
Besides coffee promotion activities being planned by the Board on thedomestic front, plans are also afoot to build a distinct image for Indiancoffee in the international market. Towards this the Board plans to bring incoffee-roaster delegations from abroad, besides arranging coffee safaris forroasters in the coffee-growing regions of the country.
Subramanium said that the first roaster delegation would come during thepresent crop itself wherein interactive sessions with various sections ofthe industry would be organised by the Board. The funds for the initiativewould accrue from the money sanctioned to the Board following the impositionof an additional 50 paise cess on coffee exports.
The Coffee Board is also in the process of convincing the National DairyDevelopment Board (NDDB) to stage an entry into the coffee sector. Expandingreach, according to Subramanium, will help in increasing the domesticconsumption of coffee in a big way, as consumers will be able to get aquality product which is not very expensive.
``Following the launch of coffee through the Amul brand, we expect coffeeconsumption to go up substantially. The idea is to offer a quality productat an affordable price through Amul's huge marketing chain,'' she added.The coffee promotion campaigns being planned by the Coffee Board come in thewake of stagnating consumption of coffee in the country, at a low 60 gms percapita. The annual coffee consumption in the country is also stagnating ataround 50-55,000 tonne.
``Today the younger generation is being attracted more towards soft drinksthan any other drink. And if you look at these drinks from the health pointof view and compare the caffine level in the two then coffee is much bettera drink than cola,'' added Subramanium.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.