Bengaluru, January 24
Besides the global uptrend, the demand from instant coffee manufacturers is keeping prices of robusta cherry at near record levels at the onset of the harvest season. Trade sources said the instant coffee manufacturers are picking up lower grades of Robusta Cherry from the domestic market as logistic hurdles have interrupted the shipments from Vietnam, the largest producer of Robustas.
The instant coffee manufacturers in India import the low grade robusta beans from Vietnam and re-export them after converting into soluble coffees.
Robusta cherry prices are commanding one of the highest prices at around ₹4,000-4,200 levels, said Devraj A N of Sarathy Coffee Curing Works in Chikkamagalur. There some demand from instant coffee makers, who are buying the inferior grades, he said.
Confirming the trend, Ramesh Rajah, President of The Coffee Exporters Association said though Vietnam has plenty of coffee, they are unable to ship it to the markets due to the container shortage and logistics issues. As a result, the low grades of robustas are being picked up by the soluble coffee manufacturers in India, he said.
Farm gate prices of robusta cherry new crop are ruling at ₹3,800-3,950 per 50 kg bag, almost 20-25 per cent higher than the same period last year’s levels of ₹3,050-3,300. The Robusta parchment prices are also ruling higher by 22-34 per cent over last year’s level at ₹7,000-7,100 per 50 kg bag.
The sharp increase in prices this year is attributed to supply issues in Brazil, the largest producer of coffee, triggered by bad weather. The Arabica prices are at record and prices of Arabica Parchment, the premium variety is ruling around ₹15,750-15,950, about 53-55 per cent higher than same period last year’s ₹10,150-10,400 levels. The Arabica Cherry prices are higher by almost 74-80 per cent at ₹7,000-7,150 over same period last year’s levels.
While the Arabica prices are good, growers are unlikely to benefit as the crop size is down on an average by a minimum of 35 per cent over last year’s levels, said N Ramanathan, Chairman, Karnataka Planters Association (KPA). Some growers have even faced higher damages of 40-45 per cent due to excess rains and also due to the white stem borer, he said.
In Karnataka, the largest coffee producing state, Arabica crop was estimated at 73,000 tonnes in 2020-21 crop year (Oct-Sept). The Coffee Board is yet to release the Post Monsoon estimates for the 2021-22 crop year. The Board in its post blossom estimates had pegged the 2021-22 crop at 3.69 lakh tonnes including 2.60 lakh tonnes of robusta and 1.08 lakh tonnes of arabicas. The harvest of arabica has almost ended, while the robusta picking is in the early stages.
Ramanathan further said that there has been good demand from the domestic roasters lending support to the prices. It also indicates that there could be an increase in domestic consumption, he said. (ends)