The government of Karnataka wants to promote its Arabica coffee and boost tourism. They will focus on branding the special Arabica coffee grown in Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu. The government also wants to encourage coffee tourism.
During the announcement of the state budget for 2023-24, Chief Minister Siddaramiah talked about the delicious flavor and smell of the Arabica coffee in Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, and Bababudanagiri. These areas have a special tag called Geographical Indication (GI). The government wants to promote and brand Karnataka coffee and attract coffee tourists.
Karnataka is the biggest coffee producer in India, making more than two-thirds of the country’s coffee. In the past year, out of the 3.6 lakh tonnes of coffee produced, Karnataka contributed 2.54 lakh tonnes. This includes 72,945 tonnes of Arabica and 1.81 lakh tonnes of Robusta coffee. The coffee is grown in Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, and Hassan.
Besides coffee, Siddaramiah also talked about the potential of the horticultural sector. The government wants to increase production, processing, branding, and export of fruits, vegetables, and flowers in Karnataka.
They will focus on crops like coconut, areca nut, grapes, pomegranate, mangoes, and others. The budget has set aside five crore rupees for disease control in the horticultural sector in the coming fiscal year.
Additionally, the government plans to build eight cold storage and processing units to help process and store horticultural produce.