Coffee exports down 19% in Jan-Feb on weak global prices

Arabica exports down 43%, Robusta down 12%

Coffee exports fell by 19% to 49,272 tonne during the January-February period of this year on weak global prices.

Total coffee shipments stood at 60,660 tonne in the same period of last year.

Coffee exports, in value terms, also fell to Rs 888.69 crore in January-February 2015, as against Rs 903.08 crore in the year-ago period, the Coffee Board's data showed.

Total value of exports was down even as export realisation had remained higher at Rs 1,80,359 per tonne as compared to Rs 1,48,876 per tonne in the review period.

"Fall in export volumes was due to the sluggish price trend in global markets. Prices of both Arabica and Robusta coffee varieties have been under pressure since last year," a senior Coffee Board official said.

The coffee market fell sharply in February, as improved weather in Brazil, the world's largest coffee grower, contributed to heavy selling pressure, the official added.

Export of Arabica variety dropped by 43.53% to Rs 10,816 tonne in January-February, 2015, from 19,156 tonne in the year-ago period.

Similarly, Robusta exports fell by 11.44% to 23,125 tonne from 26,115 tonne, while that of instant coffee declined sharply by 70% to 3,207 tonne from 10,616 tonne in the review period.

About 12,055 tonne of coffee was re-exported in the first two months of this year, the Board data showed.

Major export market for coffee was Italy (11,115 tonne), followed by Germany (4,252 tonne), Turkey (3,579 tonne), Russian Federation (2,869 tonne) and Belgium (1,872 tonne) in January-February, 2015.

As per post-monsoon estimate, the country's coffee output is pegged at 3,31,000 tonne for 2014-15 crop year (October-September), against 3,04,500 tonne in the last year.