Coffee

Topic: Major Crops of India: Distribution and Conditions · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 4 "Agriculture"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"

Meaning

Coffee is a tropical plantation beverage crop. Its seeds (beans) are roasted and ground to make the drink. In India, it is grown mainly on the shaded hill slopes of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

It matters because coffee is a key export crop. India sends nearly 70% of its coffee abroad [2]. The crop also links to Western Ghats ecology through shade-grown farming, and to GI branding.

Explanation

What kind of crop it is

• Plantation agriculture means one crop grown on a large estate, for sale and often for export.
• It needs a lot of labour and money.
• It is closely linked to factories that process the crop.

• Coffee, tea and rubber are India's main plantation crops.

• The Coffee Board (1942) develops and regulates the crop. It is the oldest of the three commodity boards. The Rubber Board came in 1947 and the Tea Board in 1953.

• History: arabica seed was brought from Yemen. It was first planted on the Baba Budan hills in Chikmagalur, Karnataka.

Varieties

Variety	Features	Position in India
Arabica	High quality and mild taste; grows at higher altitudes	India's traditional, prized coffee
Robusta	Hardier and stronger; grows at lower altitudes	Now the larger share of India's output
Liberica	Coarse; rarely grown	Negligible

• India is known for high-quality arabica. But robusta now makes up most of what India produces.

Conditions it needs

• Climate: warm and tropical.
• Relief: the highlands of the Western Ghats. Hill slopes give the right height and climate.
• Soil and drainage: well-drained hill slopes, because water must not stand at the roots.
• Shade: the bushes grow under shade trees, which protect them from strong, direct sun.

Shade-grown coffee

• Bold point: coffee in India grows under trees, not in open fields.
• The bushes grow under a canopy of native trees and silver oak.
• This is a type of agroforestry (growing trees and crops together on the same land).
• It protects the soil, gives birds and wildlife a home, and keeps the Western Ghats green.

Where it occurs

In India: the traditional Western Ghats belt

State	Share	Main districts / hills
Karnataka	Over two-thirds of output (NCERT). It produced 2,48,020 tonnes in 2022-23 and has about 54% of the country's coffee growing [5]	Kodagu (Coorg), Chikmagalur (Baba Budan hills), Hassan
Kerala	About 19% [5]	Wayanad
Tamil Nadu	About 8% [5]	Nilgiris, Pulney hills

In India: a non-traditional area

• Araku Valley
• It is in the hills of the Visakhapatnam region of Andhra Pradesh and nearby Odisha, in the Eastern Ghats.
• Coffee there grows at 900–1,100 m.
• About 1.5 lakh tribal farmers grow it [3][4].

In the world

• NCERT (2018): India ranked eighth, with 3.17% of world output. The seven ahead of it were Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, Colombia, Honduras, Ethiopia and Peru.
• Now: India is the seventh-largest producer, with about 3.5% of world output [2].
• It produces about 0.36 million tonnes a year. Nearly 70% is exported, to 128 countries [2].
• Coffee exports hit a record US$ 1.8 billion in 2024-25. That is about 40% more than the US$ 1.29 billion of the year before [2].

Don't confuse with

• Tea: tea needs weather that is frost-free all year, with showers spread evenly through the year. Assam leads in tea (about 53% of the area), and tea is native to northern China. Coffee is led by Karnataka, and its arabica came from Yemen.
• Arabica vs Robusta: arabica is the high-quality, mild coffee of higher altitudes. Robusta is the hardier, stronger coffee of lower altitudes. Robusta, not arabica, is now India's larger share.
• Rubber: rubber is also a plantation crop of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. But it is an equatorial industrial crop that needs over 200 cm of rain and over 25°C. Its main use is tyres, not drink. Its second-largest producer is Tripura.
• Nilgiris (state): the Class 10 NCERT text says "Nilgiri in Karnataka". The Nilgiris are in Tamil Nadu.

Prelims Hooks

• Origin trap: arabica seed came from Yemen and was first planted on the Baba Budan hills (Chikmagalur, Karnataka).
• States, highest to lowest: Karnataka (about 54%) > Kerala (about 19%) > Tamil Nadu (about 8%) [5].
• Five GI coffees [3]:
• Coorg Arabica
• Chikmagalur Arabica
• Bababudangiris Arabica
• Wayanad Robusta (the only robusta)

• Araku Valley Arabica (Andhra Pradesh, Eastern Ghats, the only one outside the Western Ghats)

• World rank: NCERT says 8th with 3.17% (2018). Current data say 7th with about 3.5% [2]. Brazil is first.

• Boards, oldest first: Coffee Board (1942) → Rubber Board (1947) → Tea Board (1953).
• Place–state pairs: Kodagu, Chikmagalur and Hassan are in Karnataka. Wayanad is in Kerala. The Nilgiris and Pulney hills are in Tamil Nadu. Araku is in Andhra Pradesh.

Mains Points

• Why coffee clusters in the Western Ghats (GS-I)
• The crop needs warm tropical highlands, well-drained hill slopes and shade. The Western Ghats of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu offer all three.
• The British-era estate system left large, labour-heavy plantations linked to processing units.

• New areas are opening outside the belt. Araku in the Eastern Ghats brings tribal farmers into coffee growing [4].

• Coffee, trade and value addition (GS-III)

• Nearly 70% of the crop is exported, and exports reached a record US$ 1.8 billion in 2024-25 [2].
• GI (a legal tag for a product whose quality comes from the place where it is made) helps Indian coffees sell as premium regional brands [3].

• Other steps that would help: support for small growers, more processing at home and stronger brands for arabica.

• Shade coffee and the environment (GS-III)

• Shade-grown coffee is agroforestry. It keeps tree cover, saves soil and protects wildlife in the Western Ghats, which is an ecologically fragile region.
• Keeping native shade trees, and not clearing them for open plantations, links the coffee economy with conservation.

Related concepts

• Sugarcane
• Tea
• Rubber

Read more

• Sugarcane, tea, coffee and rubber