Indian coffee is one of the best coffees in the world owing to its high quality and probably being premium in international markets. Arabica and Robusta coffee are the two varieties grown in India. Arabica coffee has a mildly aromatic flavour, which makes it more valuable on the market than Robusta coffee. Because of its flavour, Robusta coffee is used to create a variety of blends. Robusta coffee accounts for 72% of India’s total coffee production, making it a primarily produced. India is regarded as the world’s fifth-largest producer of Robusta coffee.
Over 2 million people in India are directly employed by the sector. Coffee prices are not significantly impacted by domestic demand or consumption because coffee is an export good for India. India subsidises, coarsely, 3-4% of the world’s coffee production, making it the sixth-largest producer in the world. The nation emphasises two primary types: Arabica, which is mainly cultivated in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka; this plant is noted for its gentle and fragrant flavour. Robusta: Grown extensively in Kerala and Karnataka, this plant is more vigorous and caffeinated.
A Historical Overview
India’s vast subcontinent has a distinctive coffee history that is very different from any other country’s. India ranks sixth globally in coffee production after Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, and Honduras. Approximately 70% of the nation’s output is exported, with 70% of the beans being Robusta and 30% Arabica. India’s domestic coffee market is growing significantly, like Brazil’s, as urban café chains open up to serve the country’s increasing middle class.
Coffee consumption has consistently risen by about 5–6% per year, subsequently more than doubling between 2000 and 2011. In the late seventeenth century, coffee was brought to India. According to legend 1670, Baba Budan, an Indian pilgrim to Mecca, smuggled seven coffee beans from Yemen back to India, where they were planted in the Chandragiri hills of Karnataka. At the time, carrying coffee seeds out of Arabia was illegal. The Dutch, who controlled a large portion of India in the 17th century, contributed to expanding coffee throughout the nation. Still, commercial coffee planting took off when the British Raj arrived in the middle of the 1800s.
Arabica was typical initially, but massive coffee leaf rust infestations forced many farms to switch to Robusta or Arabica hybrids. The Indian Coffee Board was founded in 1907 to enhance the quality and accessibility of Indian coffee via various educational and research initiatives. The board has strictly supervised the coffee industry throughout the nation’s history, especially from 1942 until 1995. Growers were allowed to sell their goods wherever they wanted after liberalisation in 1995.
Coffee Producing Regions in India
Coffee is produced in the southern part of India. Karnataka is the biggest producer, with almost 71% of India’s total coffee production. Kerala produces almost 20% of the world’s coffee, making it the second-largest producer. Tamil Nadu is the third-largest producer, with 5% of all coffee produced in India. A significant Arabica-growing region, the Nilgiri district, produces half of Tamil Nadu’s coffee. The production share is lower in Orissa and the northeastern regions.
Popularity of coffee
Coffee lovers worldwide have taken an interest in India’s specialty coffee in recent years. Careful growing methods, a distinct origin, a plucking routine, unique processing, branding, handling, and a look set Forte Coffee apart. Coffee is popular these days since it is also healthy. Even coffee’s rising popularity can be attributed to the rise of brands like Starbucks, Costa Coffee, and Cafe Coffee Day.
India’s Global Coffee Exports
India exports coffee to more than 50 countries worldwide. Italy, Germany, Belgium, and the Russian Federation are the largest importers of coffee from India, with an average total share of about 45%. The other coffee-importing countries are Libya, Poland, Jordan, Malaysia, the US, Slovenia, and Australia. Changes in production projections and supply disruptions from nations like Brazil and Vietnam have given India a window of opportunity.
India’s expanding coffee exports show the diversification of agricultural exports beyond traditional commodities like rice and tea despite several challenges facing Indian states in the cultivation of coffee. It emphasises how crucial value-added agricultural exports are to promoting economic expansion. The health advantages of South Indian coffee blends have drawn more attention recently, focusing on the roles of chicory plant and coffee with milk.
Challenges in Coffee Growth
Coffee farming requires inexpensive, competent labour for various tasks, such as planting, mowing, pruning, picking, drying, grading, and packing coffee. However, thousands of untrained workers from Bihar, Jharkhand, and Assam are migrating to coffee-planting areas in India, indicating a severe lack of a professional plan. No official pricing structure is in place, not even in the home market. As a result, manufacturers are forced to the outskirts while traders control prices.
Even though Indian coffee is highly valued, it does not have a unique brand identity in the international market. Therefore, it is unable to compete with well-known brand names such as Colombian coffee. Due to high production costs and inadequate marketing, coffee exported from other nations, such as Brazil, is gaining market share from Indian coffee.
Significant shifts in climatic trends have negatively impacted India’s coffee business. Dry spells from 2015 to 2017 were followed by unusually heavy rains, floods, and landslides from 2018 to 2022.
Steps to be taken
For even cherries to offer higher returns, crop quality must be increased through quality hubs for superior processing. Small coffee growers must be given minimum support prices and subsidies since they deal with more significant issues, such as fluctuations in the value of the global currency. With fewer restrictions from the government, the new rule aims to promote the sale and consumption of Indian coffee, including through online marketplaces.
It also encourages greater economic, scientific, and technical research to align the Indian coffee industry with global best practices. Develop new revenue streams. In addition to the traditional intercropping of pepper and cardamom, coffee growers could try including exotic fruit-bearing trees, fish aquaculture, apiaries, or green tourism to increase profits from coffee gardens. Minimum support prices and subsidies are necessary for small coffee growers to face challenges like climate whims and global currency violation.
The Coffee Board of India
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry oversees the Coffee Board of India, which was founded in 1942. The board’s primary responsibilities include conducting research, offering financial support, and promoting sales and consumption in home and foreign markets. Following the end of pooling in 1996, the Coffee Board acted as the industry’s friend, advisor, and philosopher, encompassing the whole value chain. The board organises several initiatives to improve output, efficiency, and quality. To boost the domestic market and increase the value returns for Indian coffee, it also sought to encourage exports.
