MILAN – India’s coffee exports soared to record levels in calendar year 2024. In the year that just ended, India saw the value of its exports jump 45% to an unprecedented $1.684 billion, up from $1.16 billion in 2023. According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, exports in fiscal year 2023/24 (1 April – 31 March) totalled 387,852 tonnes (6,464,200 bags) for a turnover (including re-exports) of $1.286 billion, down 2.1% in volume from 396,346 tonnes (6,605,767 bags) in 2022/23, but up 12.2% in value.
India’s 2023/24 crop is estimated at 360,000 tonnes (6 million bags), of which 100,000 is Arabica and 260,000 is Robusta.
Average productivity in 2023/24 was low at 832 kg/ha (13.87 bags/ha), with a significant difference between Arabica (7.7 bags/ha) and Robusta (19.35 bags/ha).
For 2024/25, the Coffee Exporters Association of India expects a record production of 380,000 tonnes (6.33 million bags), of which 80,000 will be arabica and 300,000 robusta.
The government is more cautious, forecasting a crop of 360,500 tonnes (6.008 million bags). For 2024/25, the government has also set a target export value of $1.412 billion.
In the first eight months (April-November), exports have already earned 1.15 billion, an increase of 43% compared to the same period in 2023/24.
Coffee growing is concentrated in three Indian states: Karnataka, which accounts for about 70% of production, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Around 70% of Indian production is exported.
With New York closed yesterday, Monday 20 January, for the Martin Luther King Day holiday, London started the week with fresh gains. The March contract for Ice Robusta gained a further $137 to close at one-month high of $5,143 (+2.7%).
Also yesterday, sugar prices reached their lowest levels in more than three years.
White sugar futures closed at $470.20 per tonne in London, the lowest since September 2021.