Kurma Rao M, CEO & Secretary, Coffee Board
Indian coffee stakeholders are gearing up to meet the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) norms, said Coffee Board CEO & Secretary Kurma Rao M.“We have a ready kind of plan in place to comply with the EUDR norms. Our preparedness is mainly focused on creating awareness and ensuring the required technology is available. We are working with growers and exporters to help them understand the requirements and get ready. Both processes are ongoing” Rao said.The EUDR norms, which mandate that specific commodities including coffee must be deforestation free and fully traceable with geolocation data, will come into effect from December 30 this year.The EUDR mandates that companies exporting commodities such as coffee and cocoa among others to the European Union markets must conduct thorough deforestation analysis, detailed risk assessment and risk mitigation to ensure that these goods are not sourced from deforested areas since December 31, 2020. India has been categorised as a low risk country. The European Union is a major market for the Indian coffee exports accounting for over 45 per cent of the shipments.Rao said that as December 2020 is the cut-off date under EUDR for checking whether the land has been deforested or not, the important requirement is to establish that the product has not come from a deforested areas.“Wherever the coffee has come from, the area, estate or the production area, the geolocation of polygon is the critical requirement. Coffee Board has developed a very important module for India companies. We have our India Coffee App, which is a one-stop solution, an integrated solution for all our services, whatever we extend to stakeholders. So, in that, we have integrated this module also and are creating awareness and having educative and consultation sessions with the growers. There is consistent improvement and consistent utilization of that application as well by the stakeholders,” Kurma Rao said.Further, Rao said the Board had held discussions with even traders and exporters, who expressed confidence that they are getting prepared and that the necessary technology solutions are being developed. At the same time, the entire value chain needs to work together. It is not just the exporters; growers, processors and other stakeholders also need to be involved. Everyone is working together to prepare for the implementation, he said.The Board has also been leveraging its digital mobile advisory service, Coffee Krishi Taranga to create awareness through voice messages about the need to comply with the EUDR norms. More than 1.62 lakh growers are registered in the Coffee Krishi Taranga platform.“The Indian coffee sector is definitely much better prepared. Ultimately, whatever the requirement is there, we are all working towards that,” Rao added.For the April-July period of the current financial year, India’s coffee exports grew by 24 per cent to over 1.68 lakh tonnes over corresponding last year’s 1.35 lakh tonnes. In value terms the exports were up 12 per cent at $855 million over corresponding last year’s $765 million.Published on August 20, 2026
