Coffee: Though the meet discussed the contentious issue of mechanising the coffee sector, nothing concrete emerged as industry opinion continued to remain divided. Those in favour of mechanisation were seen advocating their cause with examples from advanced coffee growing countries like Columbia and Costa Rica. Notable among those who opposed the mechanisation plan are industry bigwigs like the Tata Tea owned Consolidated Coffee Ltd (Conscofe).

``India is only a niche player in the global coffee map and its contribution a meager 3.06 per cent of the total world produce. We should not try to replicate the mechanised processes that are being practiced by larger producers as we are still miniscule compared to them,'' feels Conscofe vice-president HarishBijoor. Mechanising just for the sake of doing it to be on par with others is not the right approach, he argues. ``Indian coffee has its own strengths like being shade grown and hand-picked by small players using modern agricultural practices. All these features could be used as the USP for Indian coffee,'' he says. ``We should not adopt rampant mechanism as it can damage our coffee terrains. There is quality coffee around the world, so let us be different with our hand-picked and processed brands thereby preserving some of the good old ways,'' Bijoor said.

With the international coffee market continuing to be in doldrums, rumblings were also heard at the Upasi meet about a possible fallout on the domestic segment. Leading growers expressed the view that the industry was headed for a shake-out with small and medium coffee growers facing the brunt of the market vagaries. The current price realisation of coffee was far too low for any succor, they further added.

Tea: Like coffee, tea also seems to befacing a dismal situation, if one were to gauge the feelings of growers at the Upasi meet. The newly-elected vice president of Upasi, MH Ashraff, felt that the industry should deliberate seriously the emerging challenges and market situations. With the industry heading for a sea change, growers should pay attention to aspects like proper packaging, he felt. The R&D head of Tata Tea Ltd, P Ramakrishna, expressed the opinion that both the Tea Board and Upasi should work for the betterment of the industry. He also highlighted the importance of structuring proper funding patterns to revive the industry.

Tea Board chairman, SS Ahuja, felt that the industry should focus more on the value-added segment by playing a pro-active role and expand the international reach of Indian tea. The outgoing president of Upasi, Jacob Thomas, said the growers should get tax exemptions on the profits they realised by exporting commodities produced by them. Currently, such exemptions are available only to traders who purchasedcommodities from farmers and exported but were not available to producers who exported directly. At the inaugural session, principal adviser agriculture, planning commission, DP Bagchi said he would ask the ministry of commerce to hold a national conference to discuss tax-related problems faced by the plantation industry.