Published Sep 29, 2023 | 11:09 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 29, 2023 | 11:09 AM
World Coffee Conference at Bengaluru. (wccindia2023/ X)
The World Coffee Conference-2023 in Bengaluru will give India due recognition for growing high-quality coffee in a sustainable manner, Coffee Board of India CEO KG Jagadeesha said on Thursday, 28 September.
He said India’s coffees are the finest, which no other country can compete with, and yet did not get its due recognition in the international market till now.
“If you look at Indian coffees, we are the ones who grow coffee under shade. Our coffees are the most sustainable ones, because we create forests to grow them. It’s something which is remarkable about Indian coffees,” Jagadeesha said in a press conference.
He was talking to reporters at the end of the four-day World Coffee Conference, in Bengaluru, which saw the participation of people from over 80 countries. There were 45 sessions where 127 speakers addressed the gathering, of which 80 were international, and 47 were national speakers.
Dwelling further on Indian coffees, the Coffee Board CEO said, “Nobody can compete with Indian Robusta. In terms of Arabica, we are as good as Colombian coffees. But if you look at the global market, have we got our due recognition for our coffees?”
“You go to any of the European cafes and see the menu, there is no Indian coffee at all. So India never got its due recognition for growing such sustainable and high-quality coffees,” Jagadeesha said.
He was optimistic that the conference would help Indian coffee make an identity.
“This event is definitely going to open doors in the respect that India is a country that grows coffee in a more sustainable manner. India is a country which grows some of the finest coffees in the world,” the Coffee Board CEO explained.
The event will help build a better perception of Indian coffee among consumers and get better prices, Jagadeesha said.
Also, it will help find long-term solutions to the challenges faced by the coffee sector, he added.
World Coffee Conference & Expo 2023 ☕️ Catch ARAKU and our very own David Hogg & Sumanth Paranjape at the #WCC2023 🌱 pic.twitter.com/txkbvK5ZuG
— ARAKU Coffee India (@arakucoffeein) September 23, 2023
According to the coffee board CEO, 347 business-to-business meetings and numerous informal meetings took place at the four-day event. People were happy that such a platform was created, which gave leads to help them in establishing better business relations further.
The overall impression was that India has set an example to the world, Jagadeesha said.
Jagadeesha further said, “We have declared that India is one of the important coffee-producing countries, that the Indian coffee sector is very vibrant, and we have arrived on the global map.”
“Our presence was really strong earlier also. This has further enhanced the image of India as a producer of some of the finest coffees of India and a country with a vibrant coffee sector,” he noted.
The Coffee Board of India had appointed three universities as knowledge partners in each of the conferences, Jagadeesha said, adding that these universities will later bring out details of the proceedings of this event, which will be published in the next few weeks.
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