Coffee Exports Not Affected By Italian Debt Crisis: Coffee Board Official.

Prospects of coffee exports from India may be marred due to the Italian debt crisis, a section of the media reported recently. This has also been the reason why Indian exporters are keenly watching the situation in Italy before taking any supply obligation and hoping that domestic demand will remain robust.

However, the Bangalore-based Coffee Board of India has rubbished these claims and remains optimistic about future exports. An official of the board, on condition of anonymity, points out, “Europe is traditional market for Indian coffee. Italy is the largest importer of Indian coffee. Our exports to Italy have shown a significant increase in recent years.”

He supports the claims with statistics. Indian coffee exports to Italy are as follows, both during the financial year as well as calendar year terms: Exports to Italy as on 1st March to 30th June 2011 were 36095 MT worth Rs 483.6 lakh. 1st March to 30th June 2010 were 37598 MT worth 326.9 Rs lakh. 1st March to 30th June 2009 were 21508 MT worth Rs 215.3 lakh. 1st January to 30th June 2011 were 47,926 MT worth Rs 636.6 lakh. 1st January to 30th June 2010 were 43210 MT worth Rs 380.9 lakh and lastly, 1st January to 30th June 2009 were 23633 MT worth Rs 268.7 lakh.

Total exports of coffee for year 2007-08 were 218996 MT worth Rs 2046.29 crore or $502.84 mn. For 2008-09 they were 197173 MT worth Rs 2242.68 crore or $507.75 mn. For 2009-10 they were 196098 MT worth Rs 2071.54 crore or $427.07 mn. For 2010-11 they were 320681 MT worth Rs 3732.59 crore or $798.78 mn.

The official states, “We do not foresee any adverse impact on coffee exports to the European countries due to the debt crisis in some of the countries. Indian coffee exports reached highest ever during 2010-11 with a record level of 320,000 MT compared to earlier average exports of 200,000 MT. Even in the current year the exports have shown an increase over the previous year.”

Even during global economic crisis period, exports of coffee the world over have not faced any adverse impact with sustained demand and consumption growth. India’s exports also have not faced adversely during the crisis period, according to him.

He adds, “Coffee being an essential part of life in Italy as such we may not foresee any chance of fall in demand due to this crisis. Traditionally Italian roasters are using Indian coffee especially robusta in general and robusta parchment in particular in different blends in the preparation of ‘espresso’ and ‘cuppuccino’ coffees. This has provided a long relationship with Indian coffee suppliers with Italian buyers.”

Source : fnbnews.com