The world loves coffee. This is something everybody knows. That warm tingle in your stomach in the morning, the smell of the freshly-brewed beans at your favourite coffee shop, and the varying kinds of coffee, welcoming all kinds of coffee drinkers every day, and everywhere.
However, some countries are more obsessed about their hot morning drink than others. Coffee consumption across the world has always been interesting to look at, as well as coffee production.
On the 1st of October of each year, the world celebrates ‘International Coffee Day’, making it a good opportunity to look at the figures and understand the world’s coffee consumption, production trends, and to dig deeper into that delicious world.
When it comes to countries that produce coffee, Brazil has the lion’s share as the world’s largest exporter. It ships about 5.7bn pounds of grounds each year, the Telegraph reported. It has managed to remain in its position as a main exporter for over 150 years, supplying about 80% of the world’s coffee in 1920s. However, that figure has recently fallen to around a third. The second largest exporting country is Vietnam, exporting 3.6bn pounds each year, followed by Colombia with 1.8bn pounds, Indonesia with 1.5bn pounds and Ethiopia with 847m pounds.
According to a September 2018 report by the International Coffee Organization (ICO):
“Global coffee production has seen some changes, including changes in prices. World production in coffee, in 2017/18 is an estimated 5.7% higher with a total output of 164.81m bags. Arabica increased by 2.2% to 101.82m and Robusta by 11.7% to 62.99m bags. The larger supply in coffee for year 2017/18 is reflected in increased shipments in August 2018, as global exports increased 6.3% to 11.1m bags compared to August 2017. For coffee in 2017/18, world consumption is estimated 1.8% higher at 162.23m bags, but coffee production exceeded this by 2.58m bags. This surplus has contributed to the low prices this season. The ICO composite indicator fell to 98.17 US cents/lb. in September 2018, 4.1% lower than in August 2018, the lowest monthly average since October 2006 when it reached 95.53 US cents/lb. Prices for all group indicators fell for the fourth consecutive month in September 2018. The largest decrease occurred in the average price for Robusta, which fell by 5% to 76.70 US cents/lb. followed by a decline of 4.4% to 99.87 US cents/lb. for Brazilian Naturals.”
As for coffee consumption, the Telegraph has reported that Finland has the highest coffee consumption rates, reaching 12kg per capita per year, followed by Norway at 9.9kg, Iceland at 9kg, Denmark at 8.7kg, and the Netherlands at 8.4kg. The US ranks 26th and the UK ranks 45th on that list.
Noteworthy, the leading company in the black coffee market is Starbucks, followed by UCC, Pacific Coffee and Chameleon.
On the other side of the globe, specifically in Egypt, Egyptians’ consumption of coffee spiked in 2018, reaching about 45,000 tonnes of coffee during the first half of the year, compared to 40,000 tonnes in 2017. This is according to a report issued by the Coffee Division at Cairo’s Chamber of Commerce, showing a 30% increase in demand for coffee, especially following the month of Ramadan.
Egypt imports 100% of its coffee, with 70% of from Indonesia, given the reasonable price and good quality.
The global trends of coffee production and consumption across the world may keep changing, but one thing is for sure, coffee is popular and is not going anywhere anytime soon.
