Consumption in India to touch 1 lakh tonne: Global coffee body

KOCHI: International Coffee Organisation ( ICO) has estimated consumption in India to be well over a lakh tonne, contradicting the US Department of Agriculture’s ( USDA) figure of 66,000 tonne issued recently.


In its monthly report for August, ICO has stated that while consumption has shown a marginal increase in traditional markets like the US and the European Union, growth is dynamic in exporting countries like Brazil, Indonesia and India. Indian consumption has grown by 4.8% to 1.9 million bags (1.14 lakh tonne) in 2012, according to ICO.

Coffee Board in India had estimated consumption at around 1.08 lakh tonne in 2010. “A lot of people tend to rely on USDA figures. But if you look at total production, carryover stock and exports, Coffee Board’s figures are reasonably accurate,” said Anil Bhandari, a leading grower and former member of Coffee Board. More than the spread of café culture, the real growth in consumption has come from non-traditional markets, according to him.

“Overall growth in consumption should be around 8%. Growth in non-traditional markets should be around 42% while traditional markets should be growing by 2.5-3%,” he pointed out.

This agrees with the international scenario. According to the ICO report, total global consumption in non-traditional markets has picked up by nearly 50% since 2003. Brazil, the largest producer, is also the top consumer among exporters.

Consumption has grown by 3.1% to 20.2 million bags (1.21 million tonne) in 2012. Indonesian consumption went up by 7.5% to 3.6 million bags (2.16 lakh tonne). In emerging markets, Russia records the largest increase followed by Algeria and Australia.

The USDA had calculated consumption in India at 66,000 tonne for 2012-13 which is projected to rise by 6,000 tonne in the current year. According to Coffee Board data, total production is predicted to rise to 3.47 lakh tonne in the current year from 3,18,200 tonne in 2012-13. Saying that ICO figures are based on Coffee Board estimates, exporters stood by USDA figures.

“USDA figures are more authentic. Coffee Board’s figures have taken into account chicory consumption in the country. The inflated production figures for the current year is to factor in its coffee consumption estimates,’’ said an officer with NKG Jayanti, a leading coffee export firm.