WORLD SCENARIO OF COFFEE

World Scenario of Coffee

Coffee plant is a shrub, which is a native to Africa and southern Asia, and whose seeds are used in preparing a sweet smelling drink which itself is known by the name of the plant itself. It is a bushy, evergreen plant is cultivated in the areas that lie in the tropical and semi-tropical belt ranging from 25 degrees north to 25 degrees south of the equator. Winter frost acts as a hindrance in the growth of this shrub. That is why it is generally found at places that are at heights.

Coffee belongs to the genus ‘Coffea’. Its seeds are dried, roasted and then grinded to make coffee powder, which again is used to make coffee drink 

Coffee is a world famous beverage and it is widely drunk in almost every part of the world. The seeds from which this drink is made are actually seeds of the fruit borne by the coffee plant and are called ‘beans’ in trading terms. These coffee beans stand at the 3rd place in the list of legally traded products in the world and are considered to be a very important commodity in terms of trading.

The world’s total production of coffee is around 6 million tons and is leaded by Brazil which has more than 30% share in the world’s total production. Vietnam and Columbia follow Brazil regarding production respectively. The major consuming and importing countries of coffee are

• United States
• Canada
• Japan,

European countries like

• Germany
• Italy
• United kingdom
• Poland
• Spain

Other than the above mentioned countries it is also imported by the African countries. The net imports of coffee figures around 4.5 million tons. The export scenario is that the major share of exports in the world is also held by Brazil and is followed by the other leading production countries.

There are around 25 varities of coffee under ‘Coffea’ known to the world. But two of these varieties are very much popular and are widely used throughout the world. These are coffea arabica and coffea canephora (or coffea robusta). Commercially too, only these types are traded in the various commodity markets. Around 70% of the coffee production is constituted by coffea arabica and 25% by coffea robusta.

Coffea arabica is largely produced by brazil and columbia is said to be of best quality. Some of the popular sub-varieties of this type of coffee are Typica, Bourbon, Caturra, Mundo Novo, Tico etc.

Coffea robusta is cultivated in the areas of West and Central Africa, Southeast Asia, South America including Brazil. It is said to be a more economical variety of coffee as compared to the other one as it can be grown on moist lands having low altitudes. And also it is harvested 3-4 times a year that leads to a higher production level and lower cost level.

• Brazil (33.16% share)
• Columbia (11.65% share)
• Vietnam (10.61% share)
• Indonesia (5.97% share)
• Mexico (4.59% share)
• India (4.60% share)
• Guatemala (rest of the countries have around 28% share)
• Ethiopia
• Uganda
• Honduras
• Cote d’Ivoire
• Costa Rica
• Peru
• Papua New Guinea
• Puerto Rico
• Castalia

The world production of coffee is around 6 million tons annually. Including the above-mentioned countries coffee is produced in 70 countries of the world. The top three producing countries account for over 50% of the total production and hence control the world coffee market. The level of production of these countries is on a declining stage except for Columbia, Uganda and Peru.

Major trading centre

• New York (Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange)
• London
• Uganda
• Kenya
• Brazil (Brazilian Mercantile and Futures Exchange)
• Singapore (Robusta coffee)