The decaffeinated coffee market in Europe

The market share of decaffeinated coffee in a number of European countries is listed in Table 5.7 and it is clear that the popularity of the decaffeinated product varies widely from one country to another. In Germany and France, for example, the decaffeinated product is comparatively popular, the market share in 1990 being about 12% and 8% respectively (these countries are also the principal European exporters) in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland on the other hand the market share is less than 1%. In the latter group of countries little or no decaffeinated coffee is produced and imports are very low. (In 1988 

Denmark imported only 136 tonnes of decaffeinated roasted coffee, mostly from the Federal Republic of Germany, and 113 tonnes of decaffeinated green coffee, 67% of this from Brazil and 33% from Germany. Finland imported only 106 tonnes of decaffeinated coffee products.) (References 9-11) 

In some cases an exact evaluation of the decaffeinated coffee market is not possible because of the manner in which the statistics are reported. In Austria, for example, where nearly all the decaffeinated coffee is imported, decaffeinated products are included in the processed coffee category which, in 1988, had a combined market share of 13%. In Switzerland, where there appear to be good growth prospects, mild blends and decaffeinated roasted coffee together have a 10% share of the market. 

Import and export statistics for decaffeinated coffee products are summarised in Table 5.8. The principal exporters eire seen to be Germany, France and the Benelux countries. 

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