Indian Robusta prices up 10% till June

Indian Robusta coffee prices have appreciated sharply around 10 per cent since June ie by Rs 8 per kg to Rs 9 per kg.

The spike in the prices has been due to non-availability of quality Vietnamese and Indonesian coffees and the low stock in consuming countries, according to a senior Coffee Board official.

This rise in the Robusta prices is expected to last till the new crop hits the market towards the end of the year.

Indonesia and Vietnam account for less than 2 per cent of the global Robusta exports but they are low cost producers and hence affect the demand and prices.

Robusta exports are around half of the Arabica exports. Robusta coffees from Vietnam and Indonesia are used extensively as the base for preparing blends and coffees from other producing countries are used as fillers.

"The supply-demand mismatch in global trade in Robusta is likely to last for two crop seasons till 2009-end," said International Coffee Organisation (ICO) executive director Nester Osorio in his newsletter.

The coffee season lasts during October-September and the new crop arrives around the end of the calendar year.

"There is a significant volume of Robustas coming from Vietnam. But part of these coffees do not meet the quality standards required for blends," it stated.