Decline in coffee exports attributed to fall in shipment of varieties

India has reported a dip in coffee exports from 7.36 percent on a year-on-year basis to 3,50,000 ton…

India has reported a dip in coffee exports from 7.36 percent on a year-on-year basis to 3,50,000 tonnes in 2018 owing to a fall in the shipment of robusta and instant coffee varieties. This was stated by Coffee Board.

The fall in exports was also attributed to unprecedented rains in parts of southern India. “In terms of value also, coffee exports dropped to Rs 5,770.48 crore in 2018 from Rs 6,091 crore in the previous year,” according to Coffee Board estimates.

Italy was the top export market for India in 2018, as 76,437.56 tonne of coffee was exported to the country. It was followed by Germany, with 28,582 tonne, and Russia contributing 21,397 tonne.

As per the Board’s latest data, the country exported 3,50,280 tonne of coffee in the calendar year 2018, lower than 3,78,119 tonne in the previous year.

Out of this, the export of robusta varieties showed a decline of 17.65 percent at 179,903 tonne in 2018 as against 218,463 tonne in 2017.

The shipment of instant coffee also showed a decline of 39.87 percent to 29,157 tonne in the calendar year 2018 as against 48,496 tonne in the previous year.

However, there was a slight increase in the shipment of arabica coffee varieties at 53,302 tonne in 2018, as against 47,314 tonne in 2017, as per the Coffee Board statistics.

“The shipments in terms of value remained lower, even as the export realisation was higher at Rs 164,738 per tonne in 2018 as against Rs 161,086 per tonne in the previous year,” the Board data showed.

Coffee production in India, Asia’s third-largest producer and exporter of coffee, was estimated to be 3,16,000 tonnes in the marketing year that ended September 2018.

The sector is also looking to adopt Blockchain and drones. In this regard, the Board stated that it had partnered with Eka Analytics to bring in Blockchain for growers, exports and cafes on a pilot basis.