STiR coffee and tea magazine

34 STiR coffee and tea | 2024 Issue 1 (February / March) E By Aravinda Anantharaman ven as India's coffee producers struggle with long-standing chal- lenges – labor shortages, erratic weather patterns, and uncertain pric- es – the positive developments, especially after a bullish year, have brought optimism. India ranks between 6th and 7th among the world's coffee producers, growing both arabica and robusta. About 70% of the total crop is exported, with greens roughly split between 30% arabica and 70% robusta, according to Mercanta. Until the 1990s, coffee was pooled and sold by the Tea Board, Today, coffee is traded in a free market. Beyond the traditional tea growing areas in the south – Coorg, Chik- magalur, Wayanad – the non-traditional areas further east – Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Nagaland, among others – are playing significant roles in adding to what Indian coffee has to offer as varieties. In 2023, India saw high production (expected to surpass 352,000 million metric tons, up 4.5% in 2022-23) and record export earnings of $1.2 billion. Traditional markets of Europe remained strong, with emerging interest from North America, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and Scandinavia. In Decem- ber 2023, Hyderabad-based Roastery Coffee House held a three-day pop-up in Helsinki (chosen as Finland has the highest per capita consumption of cof- fee in the world). Indian specialty coffee – particularly the Monsoon Malabar – gained new fans, and Roastery is set to become the first Indian café chain to open in the Nordic in March 2024. Happily enough, Indian coffee is also enjoying a surge in interest in the domestic market. In September 2023, India hosted the 5th World Coffee Conference in Bangalore. This was the first time an Asian city hosted the event (London, Brazil, Guatemala, and Ethiopia were previous hosts). The International Coffee Organization, with the Coffee Board of India and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, organized 208 exhibitors and 128 speakers. The event drew participants from 80 countries and more than 10,000 visitors. The theme was Sustain- ability Through the Circular Economy and Regenera- tive Agriculture. The event allowed the Indian coffee industry to show off its wide range of coffees in a single venue. Visitors and participants alike went away with the clear message that Indian coffee is no longer shying away from well-earned attention. Indian Coffee Community Bounces Back From left to right: Dr. Vanusia Nogueira, Executive Director International Coffee Organization; Mr. Joe Kuli, Hon'ble Minister for Coffee, Papua New Guinea; Mr. Massimiliano Fabian, Chair of the International Coffee Council, London- cutting the ribbon at the 5th World Coffee Conference in Bangalore, India. Photo courtesy Coffee Board of India Photo courtesy Coffee Board of India

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