(a) the remunerative price fixed for coffee and tea;
(b) whether the remunerative price of coffee and tea is adequate in comparison to other commercial crops; and
(c) if so, the steps taken to remove hurdles in export of coffee and tea faced by the growers?
MINISTER OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (SHRI MURASOLI MARAN)
(a) The prices of coffee and tea are determined by market forces of demand and supply and are not fixed by the Government.
(b) Does not arise.
(c) For boosting export of coffee, the Coffee Board concentrates on targeted markets like USA, Japan, Russia and Middle East Countries, etc. The Board also participates in select food fairs/exhibitions abroad, releases advertisements on unique features of Indian coffee in overseas trade journals, sponsors trade delegations/invites roasters` delegations from all target markets to India. To popularise Indian coffee they arrange service of Indian coffee abroad and distribute gift packets of Indian Coffee through our embassies on special occasions and festivals and publish and distribute literature on Indian coffee.
For export promotion of tea, Government through Tea Board has been giving special attention to areas offering potential. Tea Board also acts to remove bottlenecks in exports to individual markets whenever these are noticed. Certain other measure taken to increase exports of tea include
(i) participation in major trade fairs/ exhibitions abroad,
(ii) field sampling
(iii) media compaign and
(iv) exchange of tea delegations between India and tea importing countries.