Taipei, July 9 - China's coffee consumption could grow to 250,000 to 300,000 tonnes per year within 10-15 years as disposable incomes in the world's most populous nation rise, said the chairman of one of Italy's top three roasters, Illycaffe.
That would compare with industry estimates of 2006 demand at 45,000 tonnes in the traditionally tea drinking society.
"This could happen let's say within the next 10-15 years if this follows the same market evolution that happened already in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, where coffee took one generation to develop in terms of consumption," Andrea Illy, chairman and CEO of illycaffe spa said in an interview with Reuters.
With a view to further tap into the growing market, illycaffe on Monday announced a joint venture with Taiwan's Great Wall Enterprises Corp. that will see them open 58 coffee stores in China and 17 in Taiwan within the next five years.
Illy launched its "espressamente illy" coffee shop globally in 2003 and has now established over 150 stores in more than 20 countries.
Illy competes in the Chinese cafe market with U.S. chain Starbucks , which has over 400 stores in mainland China, where coffee drinking continues to gain popularity among the 1.3 billion population.
Starbucks expects China to one day be its biggest market outside the United States.
Great Wall Enterprises Corp. rose 0.27 percent to T$36.50 on Monday, lagging an almost 2 percent gain by the broader market.
The privately held Illy already supplies around 500 independent customers in China that sell its coffee, such as restaurants, hotels and cafes, buttwo companies said in a statement.
Illycaffe sells its arabica espresso coffee to more than 140 countries. About half its supplies come from Brazil.