Speciality coffee exporters see no let up in overseas demand

Overseas demand for India’s speciality coffees such as Monsooned Malabar and Robusta Kapi Royale will likely by intact despite the prevailing weak economic conditions in various consuming regions such as Europe and the United States.

Grower-exporters said the long-term relationships with the buyers, who offer a premium to these speciality coffees that range as high as 50 per cent over the terminal prices in New York and London, is keeping the demand intact. However, economic conditions in parts of Europe have prompted a section of consumers to shift to better-value coffees, which impacted the overall coffee export volumes marginally in the recent past. “There is no let-up in demand for speciality coffees,” said DM Purnesh, President, Speciality Coffee Association of India (SCAI).

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Spike in growth

Speciality coffee shipments account for less than 10 per cent of the overall Indian coffee exports. Over the past decade, India’s exports of speciality coffees jumped by over 50 per cent on rising overseas demand and the increasing interest among the growers to produce the premium beans. From around 12,416 tonnes in 2022, shipments of speciality coffees increased to around 19,574 tonnes in 2022, according to the Coffee Board. In value terms, exports of speciality beans have increased from around ₹221.85 crore in 2012 to ₹619 crore in 2022, nearly a three-fold growth.

Coffee growers have to invest in various processing techniques to produce speciality beans, which have to meet the criteria set by The Speciality Coffee Association, a global non-profit body representing coffee professionals such as producers and Baristas among others. Indian growers produce speciality coffee such as Mysore Nuggets Extra Bold, different grades of Monsooned Malabar arabicas and robustas and Robusta Kapi Royale.

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“Single origin and micro lots are all called speciality coffees and the market for such coffees is intact as the roasters who source them sell them as standalone coffees or use it in their blends. That demand has not come down as they don’t replace such coffees,” said S. Appadurai, Managing Director of Sangameshwar Coffee Estates, which sells speciality coffees to buyers in Japan, Korea and Australia.

Appadurai, who is also secretary of Speciality Coffee Association of India, said the producers of such special grades of coffees work with the buyers on a long-term basis and are assured of demand for such premium beans. In the current market scenario, where the prices are at a multi-year high, the buyers are prepared to renegotiate the prices, he said.