India?s coffee exports increased by 40% year-on-year in the fourth quarter ended March 31 on the back of increased demand for the commodity in global market.
According to statistics available with the state-owned Coffee Board, the country exported 83,000 tonne of coffee during January to March this year compared to 59,100 tonne exported in the same period last year.
In value terms, foreign exchange fetched through coffee exports surged by 33% to Rs 853 crore from Rs 639.43 crore. But, the value for Indian coffees tumbled in the global market. The unit value of Indian coffee tumbled to Rs 1,02,757 per tonne in the fourth quarter of 2009-10 from Rs 1,08,126 per tonne in the same period a year ago. The value for the Indian coffees declined in the fourth quarter despite the fact that coffee prices increased in the global market on an year-on-year basis during the period.
According to International Coffee Organisation (ICO), average coffee prices stood at 126.85 cents per pound in January, 123.37 cents per pound in February and 125.30 cents per pound in March this year compared to 108.39 cents in January, 107.60 cents in February and 105.87 cents in March last year.
Looking at the current trend, however, experts said the Indian coffee is expected to gain in the global market due to shortage of the commodity in worldwide.