India-EFTA TEPA to provide favorable market access for Indian coffee in premium markets

Commerce Secretary calls for diversification, innovation and value addition in coffee sector

Indian coffee stands out globally for its sustainability, being cultivated in conjunction with forests: Commerce Secretary

Commerce Secretary Shri Rajesh Agrawal inaugurated the Coffee Experience Zone and Expo organized by the Coffee Board on the occasion of International Coffee Day. Speaking on the occasion, the Commerce Secretary highlighted that Indian coffee is sustainable and is grown in conjunction with forests. He noted that coffee exports from India have doubled in recent years.

Shri Agrawal emphasized the need for greater diversification in the area of coffee cultivation. He stated that with a fast-rising middle class, increased domestic consumption of coffee is only a matter of time. The Commerce Secretary further observed that value addition in coffee is taking place, with new entrepreneurs entering the sector in areas such as instant coffee and specialty coffee. He 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. He stressed that apart from exporting coffee, it is also important to work on “Brand India” and position the country strongly in the global market.

The event coincides with the implementation of the India–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 most favorable market access to Indian Coffees in 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 EFTA market.

EFTA member countries viz., Switzerland (USD 145 million), Norway (USD 27 million) and Iceland (USD 3 million) together import coffee valued at USD 175 million, which is  about 3% of the global coffee imports. However,  Liechtenstein trade data is not available with the Coffee Board.

India’s Coffee Exports to EFTA member countries during last five years is as under:

Country	2020-21 (USD million)	2021-22 (USD million)	2022-23 (USD million)	2023-24 (USD million)	2024-25 (USD million)
Switzerland	9.59	6.56	6.00	5.04	6.64
Norway	0.69	0.54	1.07	0.80	0.98
Iceland	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
Liechtenstein	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

EFTA countries (Switzerland, Norway and Iceland)  kept Import Duty of 0% on all the HS lines pertaining to Coffee under Chapter -0901 and Chapter 21 (HS 210111 & HS 210112) under India-EFTA TEPA.

Indian side kept Chapter -0901 under exclusion list (100% MFN rate retained) under India-EFTA TEPA. However, Indian side applied staging categories viz., ‘E7’ for Iceland and ‘E5’ for Norway and Switzerland to extend preferential duty in equal annual instalments beginning on the date of entry into force of the Agreement for the HS lines pertaining HS 20111and HS 210112.

Indian coffee gains premium market access under India EFTA TEPA with tariff preferences and export diversification. The India-EFTA TEPA grants EFTA zero import duty on coffee HS lines while India retains Chapter 0901 on exclusion but phases preferential access for HS 210111 and HS 210112 using staging categories ('E7' for Iceland; 'E5' for Norway and Switzerland) to extend duty preferences in equal annual instalments from the agreement's entry into force, creating a predictable tariff pathway for exporters to access premium EFTA markets.