Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/1469697
38 STiR coffee and tea / Issue 3, 2022 (June / July) he coffee market of the Baltic states – Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia – grew steadily this year despite the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the existing military and geopolitical threats and uncertainties in the region. Since the beginning of 2000s the consumption of coffee in the Baltics region and its popularity among the other hot drinks continues to grow, partially due to growth of regional economics, the rising purchasing power of local population, and the growth of the number of coffee houses in all three countries in region. According to the latest data provided by leading local producers and analysts, coffee consumption per capita in the region is stable: Estonia at 3.6kg; Latvia 2.0kg; and Lithuania 2.7kg. Most analysts expect further growth of consumption in the years to come. High growth rates of the regional coffee market and its good prospects traditionally attract the interest of major coffee producers, many of which recently began consid- ering the Baltics market as one of the most promising for growth on the European continent. One of such companies is Swedish-based Löfbergs, which one of the leading play- ers in the Baltics region and the entire northern Europe coffee market. As Janis Mucenieks, managing director of Löfbergs Baltics said in an exclusive in- terview, Löfbergs started exporting coffee to the Baltics in 1993. In 2010, the company built — in Riga, Latvia — what today is the largest coffee roastery in the Baltics. The company considers the Baltics region as very important for its further development. Paulig's stand at a recent coffee festival in Estonia's capitol city of Tallinn. Paulig Classic Cremoso 500g Ground CMYK, one of the group's flagship products in Baltics region. Baltics Coffee: Growth Despite War and the Pandemic T By Eugene Gerdin