Coffee industry sees China as next growth market

Reuters
Tokyo, March 4

China, traditionally a tea-drinking culture, will have great potential as a coffee market if growth in domestic consumption stays at 20 per cent, the head of the International Coffee Organisation said on Thursday.

"Traditional markets, Europe, are showing a decline in consumption per capita," ICO executive director Nestor Osorio told Reuters in an interview.

"But there are others like Russia or China that are showing fantastic... growth, like almost 20 per cent (a year)," he said. "If the present rate of growth continues, China will become a very important consumer of coffee."

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