Kathmandu: The National Tea and Coffee Development Board has set a minimum price for fresh and prepared coffee produced in Nepal.
The board claims that the new minimum price has been fixed by fixing 22.5 percent profit on the cost of production by the farmers. According to the new price, fresh fruits (fresh cherries) produced by farmers will be priced at Rs 90 per kg for ‘A grade’ and Rs 80 per kg for ‘B grade’.
Similarly, the price of ‘A grade’ parchment processed coffee has been fixed at Rs 450 per kg while the price of ‘B grade’ parchment coffee has been fixed at Rs 397 per kg.
The board has fixed the price of B-grade coffee at Rs 148 and B-grade coffee at Rs 95 per kg. The price of ‘A grade’ cherries has gone up by Rs 5 per kg from last year and the price of processed ‘A grade’ coffee has gone up by Rs 25 per kg from last year, according to the board.
Nepal have been producing a lot of Arabica coffee. Cultivated at an altitude of 800 meters to 1600 meters above sea level, Arabica coffee is considered to be one of the top four types of coffee found in the world.
According to government statistics, coffee cultivation has expanded to 43 districts across the country. The board has stated that there is a demand for about 14,000 metric tons of indigenous coffee inside and outside the country.
Last year, Nepal imported 266 metric tonnes of coffee worth Rs 118.8 million and exported 46.89 metric tonnes worth Rs 57.7 million.