#coffeeimport

Harvest:

The pandemic had a small impact on India’s coffee harvest which was largely wrapped up by the time India instituted a national lockdown in April. For reference, most farms start picking in November/December and wrap up in February/March with Arabica ripening before Robusta.  

While the farms that we partner with report little/no drop in yields due to COVID, third-party production estimates suggest a 10% hit to India’s Robusta crop (and little/no impact on the Arabica crop).  

Dry-Milling/Exporting:

The pandemic has had more of an impact on dry-milling and container shipping as most Indian coffees ship out between January and June. While some containers were fortunate to sail before the strict national lockdown in April, the rest have been subject to delays. 

Temporary local lockdowns since the national re-opening, along with labor force size restrictions, have also stretched out the time required to prep coffee for transport and to get ships out of port. We’re seeing many containers reaching the US and Europe one or two months later than the equivalent 2019 lots.  

Monsooning:

The monsooning of coffee, a process unique to India, runs from June through September. And while exposure to the moist winds is what transforms the coffee, monsooning is still a labor intensive process. 

Although monsooning is a 12-16 week process, the beans don’t spend all that time laid out, exposed to the moist monsoon winds.  Instead, they’re laid out for perhaps a week, then put back into storage for a few more weeks. This process is repeated 3-4 times throughout the summer.   

Labor therefore plays an important role in the process as workers are need to unbag and bag coffee several times during the season as well as to rake and turn the beans frequently when they’re laid out in the open-sided monsooning warehouses. 

The same labor force size restrictions that impacted dry milling and exporting have necessitate adjustments to monsooning procedures. Throughput therefore both a little slower and little lower compared to prior years.  

Going Foward