India coffee harvest may be advanced by a month

MUMBAI Oct 29 (Reuters) - Coffee harvesting in India is likely to start nearly a month ahead of schedule this year as early blossom showers have expedited ripening of the berries, industry officials said.

"The crop is expected to come 3-4 weeks early this year, which usually starts in early December," said C.M Pemmaiah, chairman of Karnataka Planters Association.

In India, normally arabica harvesting starts in December, while robusta arrivals begin in February.

Arabica is mainly used in premium coffees, while robusta is typically blended with arabica beans for a lower-cost option for brewed coffee, or processed into instant coffee.

Most of the coffee-growing regions have received good blossom showers in February, a month ahead of the normal schedule, and it has helped early ripening of fruits, said Anil Bhandari, a large coffee planter and member of the Coffee Board of India.

Fly harvesting of coffee has already started, he said, adding the main crop harvesting will start in another 10 days.

Fly harvesting is a process of plucking berries that ripen early, and preceeds the regular harvest by about two weeks. Normally 4-5 percent of the total crop ripen early, and fly harvesting helps hasten and better the growth of the rest of the berries on the coffee plant.

RAINS HIT OUTPUT

Despite early arrivals, total coffee output is likely to fall 5 percent short of the Coffee Board estimate due to untimely rains in October in some parts of Karnataka, which accounts for 70 percent of the total output, officials said.

The crop forecast for the year 2008/09 is 293,000 tonnes. Arabica crop is estimated at 100,000 tonnes, while robusta is likely to be 193,000 tonnes, according to the Coffee Board. "The output may come down by 5 percent due to heavy rains in Coorg and Chikmagalur," said A.S. Shanker Gowda, another large grower and member of the Coffee Board.

Rain damage is more in arabica as the fruits were already ripe, he said, adding some robusta crops have also been affected.

Ripened fruit bloats with water when caught in the rains and bursts resulting in the seed falling off.

"If the rain stops, the harvesting would be in full swing by mid-November," said Bhandari. (Editing by Harish Nambiar)