India's coffee exports decline 7.36% in 2018 due to fall in shipment of robusta, instant varieties

New Delhi: Coffee exports from India declined 7.36 percent on a year-on-year basis to 3.50 lakh tonnes in 2018 owing to a fall in shipment of robusta and instant coffee varieties, according to Coffee Board. In terms of value also, coffee exports dropped to Rs 5,770.48 crore in 2018 from Rs 6,091 crore in the previous year. [caption id=“attachment_567407” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Italy was the top export market for India in 2018, as 76,437.56 tonnes of coffee was exported to the country followed by Germany (28,582 tonnes) and Russia (21,397 tonnes). As per the board’s latest data, the country exported 3,50,280 tonnes of coffee in 2018 calendar year, lower than 3,78,119 tonnes in the previous year. Out of which, export of robusta varieties showed a decline of 17.65 percent at 1,79,903 tonnes in 2018 as against 2,18,463 tonnes in 2017. The shipment of instant coffee also showed a decline of 39.87 percent to 29,157 tonnes in 2018 calendar year as against 48,496 tonnes in the previous year. However, there was slight increase in the shipment of arabica coffee varieties at 53,302 tonnes in 2018 as against 47,314 tonnes in 2017. The shipments in terms of value remained lower even as the export realisation was higher at Rs 1,64,738 per tonne in 2018 as against Rs 1,61,086 per tonne in the previous year, the board data showed.