India’s coffee exports dropped 16.97 per cent in the first-quarter of the coffee crop year (October-September) 2008-09 at 37,774 tonnes as against 45,498 tonnes recorded during the same quarter last year. Despite this, the value realisation was marginally higher by 5.44 per cent for the quarter at Rs 444.40 crore over previous year. The unit value realisation stood at Rs 1,17,647 per tonne, according to Coffee Board statistics.
“The shortfall in exports is due to factors like sudden slowing of exports in the last three months. The financial crisis, fears of a recession affecting consumption, credit squeeze for buyers have all caused delays in concluding contracts in the recent months,” said G V Krishna Rau, chairman, Coffee Board.
“Secondly, we have nearly exhausted the coffee harvest from the previous crop and the current harvest has been delayed due to untimely rains during October-November 2008. These factors have resulted in a significant drop in exports in the current quarter. However, we expect the momentum to pick up and we do not see a significant drop in the exports of coffee for fiscal 2008-09 would be on expected lines,” he added.
According to B L Harish, Blan Coffee, Kushalnagar, a farm gate coffee trader: “In the last three months, no big coffee trader was spotted in the coffee-growing regions citing lack of orders from abroad. Only a handful of traders came to buy coffees, but their requirement was half of what they used to normally buy.”
Indian coffee export realisation in 2008 has been the highest since 2006 (Rs 1,930.95 crore) and stood at Rs 4,216.88 crore by exporting 219,822 tonnes.
“Coffee export realisation during calendar year 2008 was marginally up 0.11 per cent over the previous year. In value terms, it stood at Rs 2,416.88 crore (equivalent to $576.49 million). The unit value realisation is Rs 1,09,946 per tonne,” said Rau.
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Coffee exports as on December 30 last, stood at 219,822 tonnes. Of this, Arabica parchment constituted 39,730 tonnes (29,998 tonnes exported last year), Arabica cherry 10,095 tonnes (11,768 tonnes), Robusta parchment 17,992 tonne (20,766 tonne), Robusta cherry 90,113 tonne (89,932 tonne) and instant coffee 61,892 tonne (67,111 tonne).
Provisional re-exports (value added in India after importing from third country) stood at 22,199 tonnes as against 17,536 tonnes in the same period last year.