Wayanad Robusta coffee gets warm welcome at international meet in Copenhagen

Thiruvananthapuram: Wayanad Robusta coffee from Kerala received a warm welcome at the World of Coffee 2024 Copenhagen, which brings together different coffee tastes from across the world.

Industry Minister P Rajeev on Monday said that the acceptance received at the conference held in Copenhagen from June 27 to 29 is proof that Kerala's unique coffee can find an international market.

This is the first time that Wayanad Robusta coffee is being presented on the international stage, an industries department statement said here.

The State Plantation Department had set up a special stall for Wayanad Coffee at the World Coffee Conference held in Bangalore in September last year. The response received from there inspired the state government to think about the wide international potential of Wayanad coffee, it said.

The government is coordinating various projects like Carbon Neutral Coffee Park, Climate Smart Coffee, and Kerala Coffee Limited to exploit the industrial potential of coffee and to sell branded coffee in Wayanad, it said.

However, Wayanad Robusta coffee is still not well known in foreign coffee markets and so the government decided to participate in the World of Coffee Copenhagen to overcome this situation, it said.

Head of Climate Smart Coffee Project, G Balagopal, led the delegation of coffee farmers from Wayanad, including P C Vijayan, Sushena Devi, and Director of Kerala Coffee Limited Jiva Anandan.

Around 2,500 people visited the stall of Kerala, the release further said.

Minister Rajeev said that the participation in the conference has created an opportunity for huge export possibilities and for this, a detailed plan needs to be prepared.

He pointed out that many people who visited the stalls of Wayanad Robusta Coffee showed interest in exporting, which is promising, the release added.

Wayanad Robusta coffee is grown at elevations ranging from 700 to 2,100 metres above sea level.