Specialty coffee exports decline

Indian speciality and value-added coffee exports have declined 5.09 per cent to 69,704 tonnes during the last coffee crop year (October 2007-September 2008) compared to the previous crop year (2006-07). In value terms, the exports are up 9.38 per cent at Rs 758.33 crore as against Rs 693.29 crore registered in the previous year, according to Coffee Board statistics.

Speciality coffee comprises monsooned coffees (derived from coffee beans exposed to south-west monsoon rains and then manually processed) both Arabica and Robusta are under two grades — Monsooned Malabar AA and Monsooned Robusta AA.

Mysore Nuggets on the other hand is bigger and bolder beans from higher altitudes and mainly washed Arabica A grade coffee which has uniform bean size (7.5 mm) with no defects and this comes with a mild chocolate or spice combined with a full aroma. While value-added coffees are those which are converted to instant, ground (powder) or roasted.

Of the 69,704 tonnes exported during crop year 2007-08, speciality coffee constitutes around 15 per cent at 10,298 tonnes while the remaining 85 per cent is value-added coffee at 59,406 tonnes.

Ashok Kurian, speciality coffee grower and president, Specialty Coffee Association of India (SCAI) said, “These coffees sell at a premium in major European and US markets. During the crop year (2007-08) due to unseasonal rains while harvesting, lot of good coffees became bad coffees thereby creating a shortfall of 10 per cent to 15 per cent in production of speciality and value-added coffee.”

“On the price front, the shortfall and global coffee prices going up led to premiums going up between $250 to $350 per tonne for Robusta grades over and above the normal coffee trading prices. Arabica parchment fetched between Rs 120 to 151 per kg, Robusta all grades averaged between Rs 90 and 115 per kg, and Arabica cherry between Rs 105 to 125 per kg,” he added.

As per the Coffee Board data, during the crop year 2007-08, about 56,546 tonnes of speciality and value added coffee were exported up to July 31.

The speciality coffee constituted 9,209.20 tonnes while value-added coffee was 47,336.9 tonnes.

Of the speciality coffees exported, Mysore Nuggets EB was 951.2 tonnes, Monsooned Malabar AA 3,392.6 tonnes, Monsooned Robusta AA 937 tonnes, Monsooned Arabica Triage 7.5 tonnes, Monsooned Basanally 605.5 tonnes, Robusta Kapi Royale 3,315.4 tonnes.

Among the value-added coffees, instant coffees made up the bulk, at 47,121.2 tonnes, ground (powder) 154.3 tonnes and roasted coffees 61.4 tonnes.