India’s coffee exports surged by 26.6% in the first four months of 2026 as shipments of robusta and instant coffee grew strongly, even while arabica exports declined sharply. From January to April 2026, the country shipped 1.74 lakh tonnes of coffee, up from 1.37 lakh tonnes a year earlier, according to The Economic Times.
In value terms, exports in the January–April period rose to Rs 936.57 crore from Rs 757.07 crore, while unit‑value realisation edged higher to Rs 4,94,766 per tonne from Rs 4,75,023 per tonne, The Economic Times reported. The publication also noted that India exported 3.82 lakh tonnes of coffee in the 2025 calendar year.
The growth so far in 2026 builds on a record performance in the previous fiscal year. Coffee exports from India reached $2.136 billion (approximately Rs 18,887 crore) and 4.07 lakh tonnes in the 2025–26 financial year, with export value up 17% and volume up 4.65% year‑on‑year, according to The HinduBusinessLine. The same report described a global price surge and supply constraints in other coffee‑producing countries as factors that boosted India’s export value.
Behind the headline growth, India’s export mix is shifting markedly toward robusta and instant coffee. Robusta shipments in January–April 2026 climbed 36% to 85,168 tonnes from 62,736.92 tonnes, while instant‑coffee exports rose to 20,332 tonnes from 17,504 tonnes and re‑exports of instant coffee increased to 38,169 tonnes from 30,274 tonnes, The Economic Times reported.
In contrast, arabica exports fell by 58% over the same period, down to 30,589 tonnes from 72,479 tonnes, according to The Economic Times. The publication also cited weather volatility and climate risk as concerns for coffee production.
Production estimates suggest India could sustain high overall export availability in the current crop year. The post‑blossom estimate from the Coffee Board of India for 2025–26 (October–September) projects a record 4,03,000 tonnes of output, comprising 1,18,000 tonnes of arabica and more than 2,84,000 tonnes of robusta. An initial estimate cited by Commodity Board also places 2026–27 production at 403,000 tonnes, with the same arabica and robusta breakdown.
Despite the strong crop outlook, Commodity Board reported that the Coffee Board expects export volumes in FY 2026–27 to stagnate or edge lower, while export value may stay resilient on firm global prices. The same report noted that India is the seventh‑largest coffee producer and fifth‑largest exporter in the world.
Trade routes are another emerging pressure point for India’s coffee sector. According to Vietnam.vn, the Indian Coffee Exporters Association has warned that India’s West‑Asian market share could fall by up to 80% because of tensions in the Strait of Hormuz; West Asia accounted for 16.1% of India’s total coffee exports in 2024. The same report stated that shipping costs for coffee have nearly doubled since the Hormuz conflict began and that India supplies roughly 3,50,000–3,70,000 tonnes of coffee annually, representing 3–4% of global production.
Those developments are unfolding against a broader backdrop in which India’s overall goods exports, including coffee, reached a record $442 billion in 2025–26, according to a report by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry cited in the Times of India, which also noted that West‑Asia conflict is affecting trade routes and India’s export flows.
