New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Indian coffee is sustainable as it is grown in conjunction with forests, and its exports have doubled in recent years, Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal said on International Coffee Day on Wednesday.

Inaugurating the coffee experience zone and expo organised by the Coffee Board on the occasion, Agrawal, who took charge as Commerce Secretary on Wednesday, emphasised the need for greater diversification in the area of coffee cultivation.

“With a fast-rising middle class, increased domestic consumption of coffee is only a matter of time,” he said.

The value addition in coffee is taking place, with new entrepreneurs entering the sector in areas such as instant coffee and speciality coffee, he added.

The Commerce Secretary underlined the need to continue innovating and adding value, pointing out that India, being a land of spices, has immense opportunities to innovate with coffee.

“Apart from exporting coffee, it is also important to work on ‘Brand India’ and position the country strongly in the global market,” he highlighted.

The event coincides with the implementation of the India–European Free Trade Association (EFTA) trade and economic partnership agreement (TEPA), which provides new opportunities for Indian coffee to access premium markets in Switzerland, Norway and Iceland.

Among the EFTA member countries, Switzerland and Norway are high-value markets with strong demand for high-quality coffees.

India-EFTA TEPA may provide the most favourable market access to Indian coffee in the EFTA market.

India EFTA TEPA may help the coffee exporters to access the premium markets in Switzerland, Norway and Iceland with the opportunity for positioning India’s high-quality shade-grown, hand-picked and sun-dried coffees in the EFTA market, Agrawal stated.

EFTA member countries like Switzerland (USD 145 million), Norway ($27 million) and Iceland ($3 million) together import coffee valued at $175 million, which is about 3 per cent of the global coffee imports.

–IANS

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