KOCHI: Even as Arabica exports plunged, higher robusta shipments have pulled up the Indian coffee exports for 2015 marginally over the previous year.
Plagued with production woes from pest attacks and fluctuating prices, arabica is fast losing out to the sturdier robusta in coffee estates. The shift to robusta cultivation that started about four years ago has gained momentum of late.
In 2015, coffee exports stood at 307,726 tonnes, a rise of about 3.5% from a year ago. While the robusta shipments increased 23%, exports of arabica fell 26%. The re-exports of robusta by instant coffee makers increased 22%.
"Very few are selling arabica coffee which has been freshly harvested. Given the current prices it is not remunerative for the growers,'' said Ramesh Rajah, president of Coffee Exporters Association of India. The 2% reduction in export incentive was also a dampener for exports, he said. The average yield of arabica coffee has come down in India because of white stem borer attacks and the existing price doesn't cover the cost of production. Almost 70% of India's coffee output is exported. The March futures of arabica on ICE New York stood at $1.23 per pound on Tuesday. The prices have been hovering around this figure for some time.
It seems the prices are not likely to improve in the immediate future as coffee from other sources is compensating for the output fall in Brazil. As per the latest report of USDA, the global coffee output in 2015-16 is slated to touch 150.1 million bags (each bag of 60 kg), up 6 lakh bags as record output in Indonesia and Honduras, and better recovery in Vietnam more than offset the shortfall in Brazil, the largest producer.
Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com
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