...exporters eye niche markets

Faced with increasing competition in their traditional markets, mainly Italy, India's coffee exporters have begun to eye speciality and niche segments to realise better value, industry officials said.

Italy accounted for 40,000 tonne of Indian coffee annually and it has been growing at the rate of 15 per cent in the past five years. But an aggressive Vietnam has narrowed down the price parity with 'desi' exports substantially.

"We were getting a premium of around $450 a tonne over Vietnamese coffee but it has come down to less than $200," President of Coffee Exporters Association Ramesh Rajah said.
 

OVERSEAS BOUNTY
Destination	Quantity  (tonne)	% to total  unit	Value  Rs/tonne
Italy	53,393	26.50	68,496
Russia	29432.00	14.61	77551.00
Germany	16742.00	8.31	88049.00
Belgium	11190.00	5.55	75707.00
Spain	10292.00	5.11	61536.00
Slovenia	7458.00	3.70	55597.00
Ukraine	6,920.00	3.43	88024.00
Greece	4392.00	2.18	59579.00
Finland	4245.00	2.11	78884.00
Japan	4147.00	2.06	89886.00
France	3811.00	1.89	70191.00

India is estimated to account for four per cent of the world's coffee production, ranking seventh globally. It shipped 2.4 lakh tonne in the calendar year 2006. Over 70 per cent of country's coffee production is exported.

Rajah said addressing speciality segment and niche markets would be key for domestic coffee exporters to realise better value.