Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 1. Average Price Premium Received for Certified Organic
Commodities for IOFPCL Farmers from 2010 to 2011*
Conventional
price (rs./kg)
Organic price
(rs./kg)
% difference
in price
Quantity sold
(kg)
Product
Black pepper
15 0
180
20
1,300
White pepper
200
350
75
101
Cardamom
1,000
1,300
30
135
Coffee
52
55
5 .77
57,555
Va n i l la
1,000
2,000
100
329
Coconut (fresh)
14
18
28.57
8,573
Turmeric (fresh)
20
25
25
2,500
Gi nger (f (fresh)
20
40
100
500
Chili (fresh)
50
300
500
500
*As reported by IOFPCL.
of this coffee, typically of the robusta variety, would end up in blends mar-
keted by national and multinational corporations such as Nestlé India,
Tata Coffee, and Hindustan Lever.53 Therefore, before the introduction
of organic certification, Kerala was not known for high-
value coffee and
did not trade directly with international buyers, despite being one of the
largest producers of coffee in India. Organic certification changed this
landscape.
Since many farmers had complained about the time lag between har-
vesting their coffee and then receiving compensation, IOFPCL negotiated
an advance payment from the German coffee buyer before its second ship-
ment of coffee the following year. Typically, buyers agree upon an advance
purchase price with the marketing agency, and they only pay it in full after
they receive their products. The period between the harvesting of a com-
modity like coffee (which happens in January and February) and the ar-
rival of foodstuffs in Europe or America is several months. During these
months the coffee is dried, hulled, and graded, then shipped via boat.
In November 2010, the coffee buyer agreed to pay Organic Wayanad's
