INDIA – Exports strongly down in 1H

MILAN – India’s coffee exports saw a 21% decline in the first six months of 2009 as rising domestic prices and the global economic slowdown kept buyers away.

According to the Coffee Board statistics released yesterday, the country managed to export only 104,013 tons between January and June, compared with 132,053 tons in the first six months of the last calendar year. Total arabica exports stood at 21,414 tonnes and robusta exports stood at 59,007 tonnes. Exports of instant coffee was 23,578 tonnes compared to 32,626 tonnes during the same period in CY2008.

In dollar terms, India’s coffee exports was US$227 million in CY2009 compared to US$347 million in the same period in 2008, down 35%.

Italy accounts for about 25% of the country’s coffee exports, followed by the Russian Federation and Germany at 9% and 7.8% respectively.

Due to unfavourable weather conditions, growers are expecting a 10% to 15% drop in coffee output this year. For coffee year 2009/10, the Coffee Board expects a surge in output to 306,300 tons (of which 101,525 tons of arabica and 204,775 of robusta).

In other news, the Indian government will be working on a relief package for

coffee growers to be announced in the next Budget, likely to be presented this month. The coffee growers are asking the government to waive their loans in scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks. The package proposed by the Commerce Ministry comprises an outright bank loan

waiver of about US$ 95 million said a senior official from the Commerce Ministry adding that about 17,000 coffee-growers would benefit from that.