The Coffee (Promotion and Development Bill), 2022
Recently the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has presented the Draft Coffee (Promotion and Development) Bill, 2022.
Once passed, this bill will replace the 80-year old Coffee Act, 1942.
Objectives of the new bill:
- Modernize the functioning of the Coffee Board,
- Promote exports and assist in the development of the domestic market.
- Under the 1942 Act, the Coffee Board has powers to regulate marketing and sales in both local and global markets.
Key Provision –
The functions of the Coffee Board have been expanded.
Its new functions include:
- To promote the production of coffee and to facilitate research, extension and quality improvement;
- Promotion of coffee/coffee growers and skill development of coffee growers.
- Overall promotion and development of the coffee industry.
- To protect the interests of workers in coffee plantations, processing units and coffee communities.
- Promote ease of doing business by simplifying documentation and processes. These also include only one-time registration of processing units.
Coffee plantations in India-
- The coffee plant requires a warm and humid climate. The optimum temperature for this is between 15 °C to 28 °C. Also, 150 to 250 cm of rainfall is required.
- Coffee in India is traditionally grown in the rainforests of the Western Ghats in South India. It is mainly produced in Karnataka (most), Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
- India ranks sixth among the 80 coffee producing countries of the world.
Source – The Hindu
