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Coffee shipments have risen 12 per cent in volumes during the first half of calendar 2018 over last year on good demand from traditional buyers, such as Italy and Germany, among others. In value terms, the exports were up by over 7 per cent, both in rupee and dollar terms.
Official sources said an increase in re-exports boosted overall shipments during the period.
Re-exports surged 70 per cent to 48,005 tonnes, while green coffee shipments registered 2.21 per cent growth at 170,856 tonnes. India imports coffee to re-export it as value- added instant coffee.
Carry-over stocks
The decline in the rupee, which fell by close to 8 per cent against the dollar during the period, has not been of much help for Indian exporters. “The declining trend in global prices has partially offset the gains from the weakening rupee,” said Ramesh Rajah, President, Coffee Exporters Association.
Coffee prices have been ruling low since 2014 on a global surplus. The lower prices have also pulled down the per-unit value of coffee shipments, at ₹1,61,208 per tonne during the Jan-June period this year as against ₹1,68,090 per tonne in the corresponding period last year. Rajah said carry-over stocks from the previous year helped boost the Indian shipments during the first two quarters of calendar 2018.
However, he added that the trend was unlikely to be sustained in the remaining quarters, especially the October-December quarter, due to an anticipated fall in the crop for the 2018-19 season, starting October.
Rain impact
“Excess rains in recent weeks in the main producing regions of Chikmagalur, Kodagu and Hassan in Karnataka is seen impacting the forthcoming crop,” Rajah said. However, neither the state-run Coffee Board nor the growers or even the trade have quantified the impact of the excess rains on the crop size for the 2018-19 season.
India’s coffee output, which peaked at a record high of 3.48 lakh tonnes in 2015-16, has come down in subsequent years on account of erratic weather patterns impacting the production.
In 2017-18, the coffee output stood at 3.16 lakh tonnes. Italy, Germany and Belgium were the top three buyers of the India coffees during this period.
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