Speaking to The Financial Express, Sharda Subramanium, director (finance) of the Coffee Board, said the organisation had already approached AFC, apart from initiating preliminary discussions with the external agencies including the World Bank. She said the board projected the growing of coffee as an anti-poverty measure, besides being eco-friendly, before the international funding agencies and had approached them for extending funds to sustain coffee production in India.

Subramanium also said that there is a proposal in the offing to seek funds from the International Coffee Organisation (ICO), London, towards increasing the domestic consumption of beverage in the country.

TheICO-sponsored common fund for commodities has funded such projects earlier. She informed that the vice-chairman of the board, Bose Mandanna, would raise this issue at the convention.

"The establishment of a procedure for the award of logos as a guarantee of quality coffee is already underway and it is expected by December 1, 1999, that is with the first crop of the new millennium, the system will become fully operational," Subramanium added.

On the production and promotion of speciality coffee from the country, Subramanium said that it is the fastest growing sector in the largest coffee consuming country--the USA--and that these coffee fetch attractive premiums even in the falling markets.

"The Coffee Board has recognised the vast potential that this market offers to Indian growers and provides technical expertise and guidelines for the production of specialty coffees. The board also encourages growers to participate in specialty coffee trade for interacting with the foreign roasters. Organic coffeesare also being encouraged with technical guidance," she added.

On other steps initiated by the board, Subramanium said that the coffee board has also proposed setting up of an arbitration system. This step, she said, will help the Indian industry gain the confidence of the foreign buyer and will be a useful tool in sorting out differences between the suppliers and buyers. This proposal is awaiting clearance from the ministry of commerce, she said.

The Indian domestic coffee consumption has been dwindling at a miserly figure of around 60 grams per capita consumption and the annual coffee consumption in the country is stagnating around 55,000 tonnes.

Subramanium said to enlarge the domestic coffee market, the board in consultation with the private sector has prepared a comprehensive project to promote the coffee drinking habits in the country. The generic promotion project has already been submitted to the government and is awaiting approval.