Coffee prices down 30% in 5 years despite India's retail chains flourishing

Cafe Coffee Day, Barista, Starbucks may have created a coffee-drinking culture, but that has not helped India's coffee growers much

Efforts to promote increased coffee consumption and expansion of coffee chains across the nation do not seem to have translated into real support for the country's coffee growers. Despite a  single-digit growth rate for coffee demand in the domestc market in the past few years, prices are consistently falling due to oversupply.

Part of the coffee produce that would have been exported is also coming back to the domestic market. Five years ago, the price of a 50-kg bag of raw coffee was around Rs 9,000. Now, it is selling 30 per cent cheaper at Rs 6,000-6,500, which is much below