India’s coffee exports rose 13.35 per cent to 1,25,631 tonnes during January-March period of 2024 as compared to 1,10,830 tonnes of coffee export in the same period in 2023. The rise in coffee exports was on the back of higher demand for Robusta coffee. 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 year-ago period. The unit value realisation was Rs 2,90,057 per tonne. Italy, Russia, the UAE, Germany and Turkey are the major coffee export destinations for India.
Export of Robusta coffee bean rose by 18 per cent to 69,637 tonnes during January-March of this year from 59,050 tonnes in the year-ago period. However, the shipment of Arabica coffee bean from India declined to 13,419 tonnes in the reporting period from 15,468 tonnes in the corresponding period of last year. Instant coffee exports rose 16,218 tonnes during January-March of this year as against 15,238 tonnes in the year-ago period, while re-export of coffee also increased to 26,239 tonnes from 20,952 tonnes in the said period.
In its post-blossom estimate, 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. In the full 2023 calendar year, India's coffee exports had declined by 5.4 per cent to 3.77 lakh tonnes.