Indian coffee

INDIAN COFFEE FARMERS FACE SHOCKING PRICE DROP

Indian coffee farmers face shocking price drop in both international markets and at farm gate prices as demand for the beans has significantly dropped in major consuming countries in Europe due to the Covid cases on the rise leading to a second lockdown.

With cafés and restaurants in Europe closing due to lockdown, Indian coffee demand has dropped due to its higher price tag in comparison to coffees from Uganda and Vietnam.

The ICO Composite Indicator prices declined 11.6% earlier this week compared to December 2019. Similarly, at the farm gate level, the prices of Arabica parchment declined by 13% and Robusta parchment have dropped 20% .

Shirish Vijayendra, chairman of the Karnataka Planters Association (KPA) said,

The strong rupee and surplus production in the world market have led to low prices which remain below the long-term average of 135.34 US cents/pound between 2007 and 2018. Coffee prices averaged 107.25 cents per pound in the coffee year 2019-20 compared to average prices of 135.34 cents from 2007 to 2018.

During the pandemic, many office workers across Europe work from home meaning they no longer visit cafés and restaurants during break or lunch. This has an impact on already troubled Indian coffee exports.

For the last 3 years, coffee growers in Karnataka are already suffering from crop damage due to heavy rain and landslides. With the pandemic leading to the fall in prices, some of India’s coffee farmers are unable to recover their production costs.

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