Coffee consumption is on the rise in India as well as in the world, and the coffee industry is reaping the benefits, says MH Ashraff, managing director of Tata Coffee Ltd (TCL) Asia's largest integrated coffee company with a turnover of Rs 204 crore.

There is a paradigm shift in the consumption pattern among the people, noticeably in Russia,& China. Most of them prefer coffee to tea, he said. In Russia, now 15 per cent of the population prefer coffee and the figures are on the rise. TCL has sold 5,000 tonne instant coffee in Russia last year. In China too, coffee has become popular, especially among the younger generation. In metros like Shanghai, the number of coffee lovers is on the rise as China has opened its market for ' coffee manufactures around the world.

He said in India the number of coffee drinkers is on the rise though a large majority of the people still prefer tea to coffee like in other south Asian countries. Two years back, the total annual coffee consumption in India was 60,000 tonne, but according to the latest estimates of the coffee Board, the consumption has spurted to 70,000 tonne.

The increase in the average price of coffee has given an impetus to the export market and the price realization from exports is rather remunerative at present. The average price has increased to Rs 90 per kg and he said that this would be sustainable as demand for coffee world over is on the increase.

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