Among the most popular beverages, coffee and tea are largely consumed throughout the world, specifically in India. Worldwide, this industry provides employs several million workers, both in indirect and ancillary activities as well as in plantation activities.

Tea is cultivated in over 35 countries. Among them, 75% of global production of tea is mainly contributed by India, China, Kenya and Sri Lanka.

In 2010, the top two tea producing nations namely China and India collectively had produced 58% of total global tea output. India is the world’s second-largest tea producer and consumer after China and is also the fourth-largest tea exporter after Kenya, China, and Sri Lanka.

In the recent years, green tea segment has gained popularity, mainly driven by the huge demand from young generation for RTD (ready-to-drink) tea, since the product offers health benefits.   

Throughout the world, coffee is the second-most traded commodity after crude oil, which is cultivated across 80 nations namely Central and South America, Asia and Africa. The major coffee producing and exporting nations are Brazil, Columbia, Vietnam, Indonesia, India and Ethiopia. Among them, Brazil is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of coffee in the world. European nations and USA are the major importers of coffee.

Between the period 2010 and 2011, India had produced 3.02 lakh tonnes of coffee and was mainly grown in southern states of the country, namely Karnataka (71%), Kerala (22%), and Tamil Nadu (6%), as per the data given by Bharat Book.

Globally, coffee is considered as one of the most familiar beverage. The annual consumption of coffee throughout the world is more than 400 billion cups. The European countries are the leaders in terms of per capita consumption of coffee, followed by Finland, Norway, Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands and Sweden, as per the data given by Global Industry Analysts.

Brazil is the largest exporter of coffee and one of the leading producers of hot beverages globally. Whereas, Japan is the world’s largest instant coffee market in terms of sales value and in this country, specialty coffee is the most popular market.

Segment-wise, throughout the world, the fastest growing product segment in terms of volume is tea, whereas coffee dominates the global hot beverages market.  

Coffee and Tea Industry Current Trends

Over the 10 year period to 2011, the global tea production had an increase of 40% and its production rate had reached 4.3 million tons per annum. In the same period, coffee production also saw an increase of only 7% percent, and its production yield was 7.88 million tons annually. Hence, globally tea consumption is increasing, outpacing coffee, as per the data given by the International Tea Committee (ITC) and the International Coffee Organization (ICO). 

Major Industry Players

JM Smucker, Starbucks Coffee Co., Farmer Bros, Kraft Foods and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in U.S, Nestle in Switzerland, Unilever in UK and Tata Global Beverages in India are some of the top coffee & tea industry players in the world.