National Tea and Coffee Development Board (NTCDB) -- the agency working to promote tea and coffee -- had applied at the Department of Industry (DoI) in May 2007 for the registration of the trademark.[break]
“Nepali coffee has been registered in the name of ´The Himalayan Specialty Nepal Coffee´. With the registration of trademark, international buyers will be better informed about the quality of Nepali coffee in coming days,” Binay Kumar Mishra, executive director of NTCDB, told Republica.
The government had registered the trademark of Nepali tea a few years back to strengthen its access to overseas market.
Nepal is famous for Arabica variety of coffee, which has been exported mainly to Japan, the USA, Gulf countries and European countries.
According to NTCDB, total production of Nepali parchment coffee touched 384 tons in 1,650 hectares during the fiscal year 2009/10. Similarly, a total of 334 tons of coffee was produced during 2008/09, up from 265 tons recorded a year earlier. Total coffee production area has increased to 1,531 hectares in 2008/09 from 1,450 tons recorded a year earlier. Around 21,000 farmers are involved in coffee farming in over two dozen districts.
Meanwhile, total export of Nepali green bean coffee dropped to 88,020 kg during 2008/09, from 127,020 kg recorded a year earlier.
According to International Coffee Organization (ICO), global coffee production touched 132 million tons and export crossed 92.73 million bags (each bag contains 60 kg) during 2009. A total of 47 countries are exporting coffee, while 29 countries are importers, according to ICO.
Dr Hari Dahal, spokesperson at the Ministry of Agriculture and Co-operatives (MoAC), said coffee production in the country has not met the target of three-year interim plan (2007/08 to 2009/10) despite rise in production.
Annual production of coffee is expected to touch 7 million tons worth $60 billion across the world in 2010.
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