Global coffee export jumps slightly in 2008; falls in India

NEW DELHI: World coffee exports rose marginally to 96.62 million bags in 2008, though India's shipments declined by 4.30 per cent from the previous calendar year, the International Coffee Organisation (ICO) said.

Except for Brazil, the world's largest coffee exporter, shipments from other big exporting countries like Vietnam, Colombia, India and Mexico dropped up to 40 per cent in the last year, it said.

India exported 31,18,939 bags of coffee, down by 4.30 per cent from the previous year. Exports from Vietnam slipped by 10 per cent to 16 million bags, and in contrast Brazil's exports rose by four per cent to 29.24 million bags in 2008, it said. One bag contains 60 kg of coffee.

Last year, total global exports of arabica totalled 63.4 million bags compared to 62.4 million bags in 2007, whereas robusta exports amounted to 33.2 million bags compared to 34.0 million bags.

According to the ICO, global coffee production is pegged at 134.2 million bags in 2008-09, up by 15.45 per cent from the previous year.

Coffee prices have recovered from the low levels recorded during the coffee crisis in 2000-04. However, since September 2008, they have fallen to the levels seen in mid-2007, it said.