Next time you brew yourself a hot cuppa, remember that India earned more than ₹900 crore in the last four months from exporting coffee to the rest of the world.
The latest data from the Centre revealed that coffee exports jumped more than 26 per cent to 1.74 lakh tonne in the January–April 2026 window. This was particularly due to a marked rise in robusta and instant coffee shipments.
This meant that the exports rose to ₹936.57 crore (₹4,94,766 per tonne) from ₹757.07 crore (₹4,75,023 per tonne) a year ago, as per data from the Coffee Board of India.
Robusta exports alone accounted for 85,168 tonnes in the four-month window, up 36 per cent from a year ago. Instant coffee shipments rose by 16 per cent to 20,332 tonnes.
Robusta's gain was, however, Arabica's loss, which slumped 58 per cent to 30,589 tonnes in exports.
The upcoming months will depend on how favourable the weather and yield are in Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, the three top coffee-producing states in India.
Robusta vs Arabica coffee
India is the world's sixth-largest coffee producer, and the nation grows both the major varieties, but they are strikingly different in character and geography.
Arabica is the refined one. Grown in the misty, high-altitude hills of Chikmagalur and Coorg in Karnataka (700–1,200m), it produces beans with floral, fruity, and citrusy notes and lower caffeine. These are found in speciality cafés, used for pour-overs. Arabica is more delicate, harder to grow, and more vulnerable to pests like coffee rust.
Robusta is the workhorse. Thriving in the warmer, lower-elevation estates of Kerala, coastal Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, it produces a stronger, earthier, nuttier cup with nearly double the caffeine of Arabica. It is more disease-resistant, yields more per tree, and is the backbone of India's instant coffee and espresso blends.
Today, Robusta dominates Indian production, accounting for roughly 70% of output, with the Coffee Board projecting 2.84 lakh tonnes of Robusta versus 1.18 lakh tonnes of Arabica in FY2026.
