Mumbai, June 30 - India's coffee exports fell 21 percent in the first six months of 2009 as rising domestic prices and the global economic slowdown kept buyers away, an official from the Coffee Board said on Tuesday.
Total exports were 104,013 tonnes between January and June, compared with 132,053 tonnes in the year-ago period.
"Overseas buyers are not buying because Indian prices are higher than global rates...and then the economic slowdown is also hurting demand," said a Coffee Board official who did not wish to be identified.
Indian prices are higher due to lower stocks after a poor domestic crop this season, traders said.
The country produces only 4.5 percent of the world's coffee, but exports 70-80 percent of its output. Italy, Germany and Russia are the top three buyers of Indian coffee.
Italy accounts for about 25 percent of the country's coffee exports, followed by the Russian Federation and Germany at 9 percent and 7.8 percent respectively.
Total arabica exports in Jan-June stood at 21,414 tonnes and robusta exports stood at 59,007 tonnes.
Arabica is mainly used in premium coffees, while robusta, which makes up 70 percent of the country's output, is typically blended with arabica beans for a lower-cost option for brewed coffee, or processed into instant coffee.
India's coffee exports fell to 219,583 tonnes in 2008 from 220,110 tonnes a year ago.