[This Week On The Podcast] An Unusual Year For Indian Coffee with Komal Sable from South India Coffee Co

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This past week, the coffee futures market experienced notable fluctuations, opening at 253, peaking at 259, and closing at 248. Volatility continues to be a hallmark of the coffee market, much like other commodities.

While multiple factors contribute to this instability, the primary driver has been alarming news about climate issues in key coffee-producing regions such as Brazil, Vietnam, and India.

At first glance, it might seem like a win for coffee producers, with higher C-Market prices on the ICE Exchange in New York suggesting that they might finally receive fairer compensation for their hard work. However, a deeper analysis of the supply chain reveals more significant, troubling issues that underscore the magnitude of the coffee crisis and the potential long-term negative impacts on producers.

Roasting businesses, which typically operate on a slim 5-8% net profit margin, and cafes, which operate on an even tighter 3-5% margin, are finding it increasingly difficult to adjust their pricing. This challenge comes at a time when consumers and small business owners are already being squeezed by the cost-of-living crisis and inflation.

The result? An alarming number of cafes, roasting companies, and green-sourcing businesses are either shutting down or filing for bankruptcy. This trend is creating a negative feedback loop that will inevitably affect coffee producers, who will be forced to reinvest in new customer acquisition strategies—an expensive and time-consuming endeavor.

Moreover, the root causes of this supply shortage—namely, climate change—continue to exacerbate the challenges faced by producers. As they become increasingly desperate to find solutions, the viability of coffee production as a sustainable business model is becoming more uncertain.

This brings me to our podcast for this week, our returning guest is Indian Coffee Producer and researcher, Komal Sable from South India Coffee Co.

In this series, Komal helps us all understand the future of coffee in India with particular attention to the role that climate, regenerative agriculture, and low-intervention coffee species will play in securing coffee's viability in the years to come.

The 5 episodes of this series are:

1. India's Climate and Coffee in 2024 - https://youtu.be/bVNlEkN5TZI

2. Excelsa and Other Intervention Coffees - https://youtu.be/_ozWkAYnfGU

3. The Market For Low Intervention Coffees - https://youtu.be/uGymIA8qhyw

4. Agroforesty and the Future Of Coffee Production - https://youtu.be/MokNnb7cb8M

5. Future Proofing Coffee Production - https://youtu.be/_57ZP2BT5IE

Komal and I explored some challenging questions and I learned a lot from the Regenerative Ag and Agroforestry solutions that South India Coffee Co is bringing to producers who work with them.

Connect with South India Coffee Co here:

New episodes of the podcast series also drop every weekday on podcast apps (search The Daily Coffee Pro by Map It Forward). YouTube and Patreon members have access to the whole series now.

If you love what we’re doing and want to support our work for just a couple of dollars a month, please consider supporting us on Patreon or become a paid member of our YouTube Channel.

Peace Love and Peanut Butter, Have a wonderful rest of your day!

Lee Safar

Map It Forward Founder

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