New Delhi: India’s coffee exports rose by 67% to 25,000 tonnes in October, the first month of the 2010-11 crop year, on the back of strong global demand and lower prices.

“We have exported 25,000 tonnes of coffee in October, this year, against 15,000 tonnes in the same period in 2009,” a senior Coffee Board official told the news agency on Monday.

Overall, coffee exports during the January-October period of this year have also risen sharply to 2,51,355 tonnes from 1,57,824 tonnes in the year-ago period, he said.

The realisation from the export of one tonne of coffee was Rs1.07 lakh during October, he added. The coffee year runs from October to September.

India, Asia’s biggest coffee exporter, shipped higher quantity of coffee bean (including arabica and robusta varieties) in October 2010 because of huge global demand plus Indian prices were ruling lower than Columbian coffee, though slightly higher than Brazil, he said.

Besides, there was enough supply of coffee in the domestic market, thanks to good crop in the 2009-10 crop year that ended in September, he added.

The official further said an expected higher production of 3.08 lakh tonnes in the ongoing crop year may further push shipments this year.

Total coffee production in the 2009-10 crop year was 2.89 lakh tonnes. The country had shipped 2.70 lakh tonnes in the just completed 2009-10 crop year, the official said.

Italy, Germany and Russia are India’s major export markets.