India’s Coffee Exports Down 10.3 Percent in FY13

Decreased demand in the U.S. and European markets has led to a more than 10 percent decline in fiscal year 2013 coffee shipments from India, the world’s sixth largest exporter.

Creative Commons photo by Il conte di Luna

Ramesh Rajah, president of the Coffee Exporters Association of India, told the country’s Business Standard that the 10.3 percent decrease — 308,916 tons down from 344,356 tons in fiscal year 2012 — was much higher than anticipated.

“The decline in exports is mainly due to weak demand, particularly from south European nations like Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal as buyers in these countries were looking for cheaper coffees,” he told the news source. “Though we had expected a decline in exports in the range of five per cent this year, the final figure for the year is much higher.”

The decline in arabica prices in recent months also contributed to the decline, as many farmers have been unable to keep up with the costs of production. “The exports during FY13 would have been much lower, but for the pick up in demand during February and March, Rajah told Business Standard. “The robusta variety saw higher shipments during the last two months of the fiscal, while arabica has seen a declining trend as Brazil and Indonesia have pumped up volumes.”

The full story: Business Standard