The Budget has failed to give sops to plantation sector’s farm mechanisation drive. The sector had sought concessions in the wake of labour shortage and non-availability of machines locally.
This year – Finance Ministry under notification No 13/2013 – has continued lower customs duty on farm equipment and coffee roasting, grinding and packaging machines.
Welcoming the continuation of concessions, Jawaid Akhtar, Chairman, Coffee Board, said: “We have introduced the farm mechanisation schemes in coffee growing regions and this will further speed up the implementation process.”
Last year through notification No 12/2012, Union Finance Ministry has offered basic customs duty on power weeding machine for coffee plantations, coffee grinder, coffee processing machine, sprayers, coffee packaging machine, coffee bagging machine and mechanical harvester for coffee plantation had been reduced from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent.
However, the other planters sectors – tea, rubber and spices did not feature in the Budget 2013. Ullas Menon, Secretary-General, Upasi, said: “We had sought concession on import tariff on all plantation sectors due to labour shortage and non availability of machinery locally. We were expecting something to come this year for tea machineries as done in the last budget for coffee machineries but it did not come.”
The Coconut Development Board (CDB) has hailed the Rs 75-crore budget allocations to rejuvenate and replant coconut garden, saying that it will benefit all traditional coconut growing areas in the long run.
T.K. Jose, Chairman, CDB told Business Line that a timely re-plantation and rejuvenation of coconut plantations was necessary for the benefit of the sector to get more yield. The Board, he said, had initiated a pilot project since 2009 in three district of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to replace old, senile plants. The project is almost nearing completion.