New Delhi, Oct 16 (IANS): As the global demand for Indian coffee surges, the country has clocked coffee exports worth Rs 7,771.88 crore in the first half of current fiscal (FY25), a massive 55 per cent increase from Rs 4,956 crore during the same period last fiscal.

This surge highlights the growing global demand for Indian coffee and marks a pivotal moment for the nation’s agricultural sector.

For the April-September period, the country exported 2.2 lakh tonnes of coffee, a rise from 1.91 lakh tonnes in the same period last year which is a 15 per cent volume increase, as per latest data by the Coffee Board of India.

There has been a significant rise in coffee price in the international markets, amid anticipated European export regulations. Coffee buyers are paying an average of Rs 352 per kg for the Indian coffee, up from Rs 259 per kg earlier.

Among the countries exporting the Indian coffee, Italy tops the chart with 20 per cent of total exports. Germany, Russia, the UAE and Belgium collectively import 45 per cent of Indian coffee.

The coffee production in India was nearly 3.6 lakh metric tonnes in the 2023-24 crop year.

During 2021-22, Indian coffee exports stood at $1.016 billion, growing by 38 per cent from the previous year 2020-21. In the year 2021-22, India was the fifth largest exporter of coffee in the world with a share of about 6 per cent of global coffee exports.

Karnataka accounts for about 70 per cent of India’s coffee output. Kerala contributes 20 per cent of India’s coffee production, positioning it as the second-largest coffee-producing state in the country. Tamil Nadu ranks third with a 5.7 per cent share. The coffee export market has been a key driver of the country’s coffee industry.