Coffee exports rise 59.3% on global demand

The country’s coffee exports jumped up by 59.34 per cent to 325,116 tonnes in 2010-11, buoyed by robust global demand.

Exports stood at 204,027 tonnes in the previous financial year, according to data released by the Coffee Board of India.

“Coffee exports grew as India took the advantage of meeting the global demand, following production shortfall in major growing countries Brazil and Colombia,” Coffee Exporters Association of India president Ramesh Rajah said.

The total export value realisation also jumped by 75 per cent to Rs 3,789 crore in the 2010-11, as against Rs 2,165 crore in the previous year, the Board’s data showed.

The per-tonne value realisation for Indian coffee was higher in 2010-11 at Rs 1,16,543 as compared to Rs 1,06,119 a tonne in the previous financial year. India largely exports coffee to Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Russian Federation and Spain.

Rajah was unsure if the country’s coffee export growth would continue in 2011-12, considering lower carryover stock and fall in production.

“This financial year, exports could be down due to limited carryover stock plus lower production estimate of arabica and robusta varieties,” he said.

The country’s coffee production (post monsoon crop) is estimated to be down by almost three per cent at 299,000 tonnes in the 2010-11 crop year (October-November), over the previous post-blossom estimate of 308,000 tonnes.