Coffee exports down on low demand

Indian coffee failed to find favour with overseas buyers in January, with exports declining 15 per cent to 10,810 tonnes due to poor demand for instant coffee and value-added products, caused by economic recession.

Total provisional exports of coffee, including value-added products, stood at 10,810 tonnes in January against 12,692 tonnes in the same month last year, a senior Coffee Board official said.

The provisional export of instant coffee declined to 1,866 tonnes as on January 30 from 2,760 tonnes a year ago. The shipment of value-added products slumped to just 1,015 tonnes from 2,751 tonnes in January 2008. Since January 30 was a holiday, no export permit was issued that day, the official said.

“A slowdown in demand due to the ongoing global economic recession has dented exports. Moreover, re-exports (shipments of value-added products), too, have slumped,” he said. Provisional coffee export, too, dipped to 9,795 tonnes in January against 10,121 tonnes a year ago, he said.

Russia, Commonwealth countries and Germany are India’s major coffee markets.

However, coffee export so far this fiscal has shot up 22 per cent in value terms to Rs 1,815.43 crore from Rs 1,483.11 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal due to high prices in global markets even though shipment volumes suffered.

The average export price of a tonne of coffee touched Rs 1,13,607, up 26 per cent, from Rs 89,956 a year ago.

India exported 1,59,798 tonnes of coffee and value-added products since April 2008, compared with 1,64,870 tonnes in the same period the previous financial year.