Coffee · guide
Coffee is traded on quality, traceability and timing. This guide follows the path of a new exporter: deciding the product form, classifying it, finding importers, protecting the beans and getting paid.
| Market | Imports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $11.7B | 2024 |
| Germany | $6.5B | 2024 |
| France | $4.0B | 2024 |
| Italy | $3.4B | 2024 |
| Canada | $2.4B | 2024 |
| Spain | $2.2B | 2024 |
| Market | Exports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | $11.8B | 2024 |
| India | $5.2B | 2024 |
| Vietnam | $4.7B | 2023 |
| Germany | $4.5B | 2024 |
| Switzerland | $3.9B | 2024 |
| China | $3.6B | 2024 |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 09 (coffee, tea, mate and spices). Source: UN Comtrade.
Coffee exporters mostly sell one of three forms. Green coffee, the unroasted bean, is the bulk of international trade because importers and roasters in consuming countries prefer to roast close to the customer. Roasted coffee, whole bean or ground, is a value-added product with a shorter shelf life and heavier packaging demands. Decaffeinated coffee is a separate processed form that needs its own process evidence.
Your form decides everything downstream: the tariff line, the packaging, the transport conditions and the type of buyer. A first-time exporter with farm or cooperative access usually starts with green coffee. Roasted exports suit those with a proper roastery, food-grade packing, and a buyer who has already asked for private label.
Coffee belongs to heading 0901, and the subheadings follow the processing. Coffee not roasted and not decaffeinated is 090111, decaffeinated but not roasted is 090112, roasted and not decaffeinated is 090121, and roasted and decaffeinated is 090122. The heading also covers coffee husks and skins under 090130, and coffee substitutes containing coffee under 090140, with 090190 as the wider residual line.
Match the tariff description word by word to what you actually ship. Parchment or cherry that has not been hulled is a question for your broker, since the six-digit list groups the common cases but the national extension may carve out more. Get the full national code confirmed before you quote or file.
Exporters normally need a business registration, a tax identity, an exporter code and a foreign-currency bank account. Many coffee-producing countries also run a sector licensing or registration system for coffee traders, sometimes with sample-quality inspection before shipment. Do not assume yours does or does not: ask the customs office and the sector’s promotion body what applies to you today.
If you buy from smallholders, set up a traceability system from the start. Buyers increasingly ask where a lot came from, which farms or cooperatives supplied it, and how it was processed and dried. A simple lot ledger that ties bags to suppliers and dates costs little now and saves you from awkward questions later.
Chapter 09 imports are led by the United States at $11.7B, then Germany at $6.5B, France at $4.0B, Italy at $3.4B, Canada at $2.4B and Spain at $2.2B. Because the chapter combines coffee, tea, mate and spices, these figures show where the chapter is bought, not coffee volumes as such. Use them to shortlist markets, then filter shipment records to heading 0901.
The records name the importing company, the quantity and the declared value per shipment, and they usually show which origins each buyer already uses. Split the list by subheading: an importer buying 090111 is a green coffee trader or roaster, while one buying 090121 is buying finished roasted product for resale. Approach the group that matches what you can supply, and use the free marketplace on this site to post your lots where buyers search.
Green coffee is sensitive to humidity swings. Beans dried to a safe moisture level can still take on water in a hot container that cools at sea, a problem often called container rain. Lined containers, breathable bags of sound quality and a properly ventilated stuffing plan reduce the risk. Never load coffee with strong-smelling cargo, because beans absorb odours that no roaster can remove.
Roasted coffee behaves differently. It loses aroma to oxygen and needs barrier packaging, often with a one-way valve for whole beans, and a clear roast date. Ask any buyer of roasted coffee about the minimum remaining shelf life they require on arrival, then work backward to decide the roast date and the transport mode.
Coffee is sold against a sample. Send a pre-shipment sample drawn from the actual lot, keep a sealed duplicate, and ship goods that match. The specification usually names the variety or type, screen size, defect count, moisture and cup profile, plus the processing method and crop year. Agree these in writing so both sides evaluate the same thing.
Ask what residue and contaminant limits the buyer’s market applies, and whether they want a laboratory analysis. Some buyers also require a sustainability or organic certification for the lot. Those need to have been obtained before the crop is sold as certified, so do not promise one you do not hold.
A coffee contract should state the quantity with a tolerance, the crop year, the delivery period, the Incoterm, the payment method and the quality claim process. FOB is the common choice for a new exporter, since it hands ocean risk to the buyer at the port. If you offer CIF, secure the freight and insurance quote before the offer goes out.
For a first sale to an unknown importer, ask for an irrevocable letter of credit or partial advance payment. Keep the letter’s document requirements to what you can genuinely produce, and read them before you accept. State the currency and who pays bank charges.
The base set is the commercial invoice, packing list, transport document and export declaration, with a certificate of origin and often a plant-health certificate and a quality or analysis report. Confirm the destination’s current list with the buyer and its customs authority before loading.
After shipment, share the tracking, send the originals as agreed and ask for feedback on the cup and the bag condition. Repeat orders come from lots that taste like the sample. India, ranked 2 of 96 exporters in the chapter at $5.2B, competes on exactly that kind of reliability.
Heading 0901. Unroasted coffee is 090111, decaffeinated unroasted is 090112, roasted is 090121 and roasted decaffeinated is 090122. Confirm the longer national code with your broker before quoting.
Green coffee is the larger part of international trade and easier to ship. Roasted coffee adds value but needs barrier packaging, shelf-life control and often label compliance, so it suits exporters with a proper roastery.
No. They cover chapter 09, which includes coffee, tea, mate and spices. Filter shipment records by the 0901 heading to see coffee-specific importers and shipment sizes.
Use sound breathable bags, lined and ventilated containers, and keep coffee away from odorous cargo. Moisture swings during sea transit are the main danger, so ask your forwarder about moisture management.
Filter customs shipment records to heading 0901 in your target market. You will see named consignees, quantities and origins. Approach those whose product form and volume match your supply, or post your lots on the free marketplace.
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