Coffee exports rise a tad in H1

India’s coffee exports in the April-September period of the current financial year rose marginally in rupee value terms on higher realisations aided by a weaker currency. This is despite a decline in volumes during the period.

Coffee shipments were valued at ₹2,788.9 crore during the period, up 1.12 per cent over the same period last year’s ₹2,757.89 crore. However, in dollar terms, the shipments were lower by about 6 per cent at $370.98 million as against $394.79 million in the corresponding period last year.

In volume terms, the shipments for the period were down by 7.45 per cent at 1.64 lakh tonnes as against 1.77 lakh tonnes last year. The average per unit realisations were up 9.3 per cent y-o-y at ₹1,69,865 per tonne as against ₹1,55,448 per tonne.

Ramesh Rajah, President of the Coffee Exporters Association, said the outlook for the next few months is not that great. “We expect shipments to pick up from January when the new crop arrives. As of now, business is dull and we expect the situation to improve once things settle down in Europe,” Rajah added.

The Coffee Board expects the 2020-21 crop to be better than the previous year’s 2.98 lakh tonnes. Though the excess rains have impacted the crop in the key producing regions of Karnataka, which accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s output, a clearer picture on the crop size would emerge once the assessment is done later this month.

Covid disruption

India exports about two-third of its coffee as the domestic consumption is estimated at a little over one lakh tonnes.

Coffee exports had slowed down considerably since the beginning of the current financial year after the Covid-19 pandemic tightened its grip on various countries, triggering lockdowns. As a result, the trade logistics went haywire, impacting shipments.

“In the initial phase of the lockdown, the disruption in the logistics impacted the shipments and subsequently the clients asked exporters to go slow on the shipments and delayed the orders,” Rajah said.

For the coffee year ending September 2020, the exports were lower at 3.13 lakh tonnes (3.48 lakh tonnes in the previous year). In value terms, exports for the period stood at $710 million (791.55 million). For the year-ended March 2020, coffee exports stood at 3.26 lakh tonnes valued at $734 million or ₹5,199 crore.