Coffee is one of the world’s most popular commodities. India’s coffee is regarded as one of the best owing to its premium quality and speciality. It became the world’s fifth-largest coffee exporter in 2021-22 and is set to grow further in the future.
On Monday, The Coffee Board of India, an organisation managed by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, issued an official report stating that coffee shipments from India rose 13.35 per cent to 1,25,631 tonnes during the January-March 2024 period due to higher demand for Robusta coffee globally.
What type of coffee does India harvest?
India produces two types of coffee: Arabica and Robusta. Arabica coffee has a higher market value than Robusta coffee due to its mild aromatic flavour. Due to its strong flavour, Robusta coffee is mainly used in making various blends. Robusta is a majorly manufactured coffee, with a share of 72% of the total production of Indian coffee. India is considered the fifth largest producer of Robusta coffee globally. So consequently, a change in the price has affected India’s exports.
Estimates of India’s coffee export
Global robusta prices are at a three-decade high due to supply issues in the top-producing countries, such as Vietnam and Brazil. As a result of high robusta prices, the per unit realisation for Indian exporters went up.
The data shows that exports of Robusta coffee beans rose by 18 per cent to 69,637 tonnes in the first quarter of the 2024 calendar year from 59,050 tonnes in the year-ago period. This has topped India’s exports to Rs. 10,000 crore in FY2024.
The board has projected the country’s total coffee production at 3,74,200 tonnes for the 2023-24 marketing year (October-September), higher than the actual output of 3,52,000 tonnes in the previous year.
However, the shipment of Arabica coffee beans declined to 13,419 tonnes from 15,468 tonnes in the said period.
In terms of value, total coffee exports were at Rs 3,644 crore during January-March of 2024, higher than Rs 2,604.44 crore achieved in the previous period.
India exports coffee to more than 50 countries around the world. Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Russian Federation are the largest importers of coffee from India, with an average total share of about 45%. Italy, India’s largest export market, accounts for 20% of bean coffee exports.
Coffee is largely produced in the southern part of India. Karnataka is the largest producer accounting for about 70% of the total coffee production in India. Kerala is the second-largest. India exports about two-thirds of the 3.6 lakh tonnes of green coffees produced in the country.
