During the last fiscal ending March 31, 1998, Nestle India exported around 22,373 tonnes of the robusta variety against 22,245 tonne registered during the same period previous year. ``The value of exports (company-wise) for the last fiscal is being worked out shortly,'' said sources in Coffee Board. The total revenue from exports has been pegged at Rs 1,326.25 crore (Rs 1,467.08 crore) for 1997-98.

During 1997-98, the coffee exports of Allana Sons has come down by 6,705 tonne. Allana Sons, which was the leader during 1996-97 in quantity-wise exports from India, has reported exports of 19,962.6 tonnes (inclusive of both arabica and robusta varieties) during 1997-98 against 26,667 tonnes (comprising both arabica and robusta varieties), valued at Rs 207.80crore, reported during the same period previous year.

Though Tata Tea Ltd has been contemplating reducing its volume in coffee exports, the tea major has retained its third position among the top ten exporters with 14,058 tonnes (18,887 tonnes) during the period under review. For 1996-97, the company had clocked a revenue of Rs 150.28 crore from coffee exports. ``This is not a healthy sign as many leading firms are planning to withdraw from the business owing to the prevailing high volatility. "Leading corporates like Grasim Industries, liquor major UB Ltd, MA Chidamabaram group's Mac Industries Ltd and Harrison Exports are now reluctant to do exports in a big way,'' added the sources.

According to industry experts, the dismal performance has come at a time when the Coffee Board has been aiming for a substantial increase in coffee exports. The board is also planning to increase production in non-traditional areas like the northern and western parts of the country during the Ninth Five Year Plan period.Considering the fact that the board is coming out with an array of new seasonal coffee beans, the situation should have been different.

Hindustan Lever Ltd, which was number 10 in quantity-wise coffee exports during 1996-97, has improved its position to number 8 by registering 4,966.5 tonnes (4,482 tonnes) for the last fiscal. It had fetched a revenue of around Rs 40.34 crore from exports during 1996-97.

Yet another firm from Karnataka that has bettered its exports is Mysore Coffee Curing Works Ltd. Based in Chickmagalur, the company has improved its position to seven from nine earlier with an export of 7,035.4 tonnes during the period against 4,508 tonnes earlier. ``We expect more business during the current fiscal with the setting up of our fully-owned subsidiary in the UK. The outfit will help us to source commodities from other major markets as well,'' a senior official in the company said.

The exports of leading players like Madhu Jayanthi International and Ramesh Enterprises have fallen sharplyowing to the prevailing high volatility in the international markets during the last fiscal. Madhu Jayanthi's exports have fallen to 4,952.6 tonnes from 6,840 tonnes registered during 1996-97, while Ramesh Enterprises has reported exports of around 10,327 tonnes against the last fiscal's 16,127 tonnes.

Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading (ABC Trading) has also reported a negative growth in exports registering 11,584.8 tonnes during 1997-98 against 17,681 tonnes exported in the same period last year.