On International Coffee Day on Friday, the Statistics Office reported that the coronavirus pandemic had not influenced coffee consumption in Slovakia significantly last year. The average inhabitant, regardless of age, consumed 2.7 kilograms of coffee, while the long-term average fluctuates at around 3 kg. "Long-term coffee consumption in Slovakia amounts to 3.04 kilograms per capita. This is a ten-year average, with Slovakia posting the highest coffee consumption per capita (3.6 kg) in 2014,” said the head of the department of statistics on living standards Robert Vlacuha. Meanwhile, the lowest coffee consumption of 1.4 kg per capita was seen in Slovakia in 1990.
The price of coffee in Slovak shops has been growing gradually. While ten years ago 250 grams of roasted coffee cost €2.01 on average, Slovaks paid €3.02 for the same amount last year. The price of a 100-gram packet of instant coffee rose from €3.7 in 2010 to €4.1 last year. A cup of espresso (7 grams) in Slovak cafes cost €1.3 on average last year.
According to data released by the Statistics Office, Slovakia imported 40,400 tonnes of coffee worth €158.4 million last year, a drop of nearly 1 percent year-on-year (y-o-y) and 3.8 percent below the five-year average. Over the past five years, the highest volumes of coffee have been imported into Slovakia from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Italy.
Slovak entrepreneurs also export coffee, however. A total of 29,100 tonnes of coffee worth almost €135 million was exported last year. Coffee exports decreased by 9 percent y-o-y and were 8 percent below the five-year average. Exports have headed mainly to Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland and Romania over the past five years.
Source: TASR
