India's coffee exports rise 25% to 242,000 tonnes in first half, earnings up only 10%
Coffee Board data show Indian coffee exports rose 25% year on year to more than 242,000 tonnes in the first half of the fiscal year, from 193,000 tonnes. Export earnings grew just 10% to $1.17 billion as global price swings compressed realisations. Instant coffee supplied most of the volume gain, rising 25.5% to 134,000 tonnes.
India exported more than 242,000 tonnes of coffee in the first half of the current fiscal year, a 25% increase year on year, according to Coffee Board data. Shipments in the same six months of the previous year stood at 193,000 tonnes, meaning India added roughly 49,000 tonnes of export volume in half a year.
Earnings did not keep pace. Export revenue rose 10% to $1.17 billion. whalesbook.com, reporting the Coffee Board figures, attributed the gap to price swings on the global market that squeezed exporter margins. The outlet labels the period the first half of fiscal 2027; the Hindi-language account of the same data describes it as April to September 2026 — the same six months under India's April-to-March fiscal calendar.
Instant coffee drives the volume gain
Soluble coffee accounted for most of the increase. Instant coffee exports rose 25.5% to 134,000 tonnes, equal to roughly 55% of total shipment volume. The category reflects sustained global demand for value-added coffee products, a segment in which Indian processors have built extraction capacity instead of relying on green bean sales alone. That shift changes the composition of the trade: a growing share of the tonnage leaves the country already processed, with the manufacturing margin captured domestically.
Italy, Germany, Russia and the United Arab Emirates remain the largest buyers of Indian coffee. Italy and Germany anchor Europe's roasting and extraction industry, while Russia and the UAE take soluble and blended product for domestic consumption and re-export.
Price volatility caps revenue growth
The 15-percentage-point spread between volume and value growth points to lower average realisations. The reported figures imply an average export price of roughly $4,800 per tonne, against about $5,500 per tonne a year earlier. For exporters working on processing spreads rather than outright price exposure, that compression lands directly on margins, and it limits how much of the volume record converts into cash.
whalesbook.com also flagged currency movement and raw material cost swings as live risks for the remainder of the year. Green coffee procurement costs, freight and the rupee all feed into realisations on contracts written months in advance.
Coffee Board sees 404,000 tonnes in 2026-27
The Coffee Board has estimated production of 404,000 tonnes for crop year 2026-27, split as follows:
- Arabica: 120,000 tonnes
- Robusta: 284,000 tonnes
- Robusta share of the crop: about 70%
The robusta weighting matters for the soluble segment, because extraction plants run predominantly on robusta. A crop of that size sets the domestic raw material base against which exporters will price the second half of the year.
CCL Products posts 61% profit growth
Among listed players, CCL Products India Ltd reported net profit growth of 61.33% in the June 2026 quarter, according to whalesbook.com. The company is one of the country's larger soluble coffee manufacturers, and its results track the instant coffee export trend closely. As of 1 October 2026 its shares traded at ₹1,046.40, with a market capitalisation of about ₹13,974 crore (₹139.74 billion).
The stock trades at six times book value, which whalesbook.com said indicates that future growth expectations are already priced in. The same report named raw material price volatility and currency shifts as the main threats to the company's margins. Market participants are now watching whether exporters can hold the current pace through the second half of the fiscal year, with the new crop and global price direction the two variables that will decide it.
