The NTCDB has increased the price of fresh cherry by Rs 5 per kg and dry parchment by Rs 30 per kg. With the price hike, fresh cherry now costs Rs 40 per kg and dry parchment is available for Rs 200 per kg. [break]
According to data, around 418 tons of coffee was produced in the country in the first six months of the current fiscal year. This compares with production of 402 tons of coffee in the same period last year. The NTCDB expects coffee production to go up by 15 percent this year compared to last year.
According to NTCDB Chief Raghupati Chaudhary, coffee is produced on around 1,700 hectares of land in 40 districts of the country. Around 26,000 farmers are involved in coffee farming.
Districts like Syangja, Kaski, Parbat, Palpa, Gulmi, Lalitpur and Kavre are famous for coffee production. Around 47 tons of coffee was produced on 230 hectares of land in Syangja alone last year, while Kaski produced 27 tons of coffee last year.
As demand for organic coffee is also going up in the international market, more coffee farmers are also lured to this farming technique.
In this regard, the coffee produced in Kaski is soon getting organic certification. The District Coffee Producer´s Association (DCPA) has initiated works to obtain the certification.
Till date, organic certifications have been given to coffee produced in Gulmi, Lalitpur and Arghakhanchi.
"We are certain about coffee produced in Kaski getting organic certification," said DCPA President Indra Gauchan.
The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture Australia (NASAA) provides organic certification for coffee after testing the product.
According to Chaudhary, it costs around Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 to get the certification.
Arabica variety of coffee produced in Nepal is mostly exported to Korea, Japan, Germany and the US. Last year, around 215 tons of coffee was exported to these countries.
Nepal exports clean beans to these countries, which are processed as per need by importing countries.
Nepal exported coffee worth Rs 90 million to various countries last year and imported the product worth Rs 120 million in the same period.
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