Coffee · guide
India sits near the top of the exporter table for the chapter that includes coffee. This guide is for Indian growers, curers and traders who want to sell abroad, and covers markets, product forms, logistics and buyer search.
| 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.
India’s chapter 09 exports reached $5.2B in the latest reported year, which put it second of 96 exporters, though coffee is only one item within that total. Brazil is ahead at $11.8B, while Vietnam follows at $4.7B in 2023. The ranking is for the whole chapter, so it blends coffee, tea, mate and spices, and India’s large spice trade is part of that total. Do not quote it as India’s coffee position.
What the number does tell you is that Indian exporters compete against very large origins. Brazil and Vietnam ship at scale, so a smaller Indian exporter usually wins on traceability, distinct regional character, and reliable quality rather than on volume.
Indian coffee reaches buyers in several forms: green beans from washed or unwashed processing, roasted whole bean or ground coffee, and instant or extract products, which fall outside the raw coffee lines. In the tariff, heading 0901 covers the raw and roasted forms: 090111 for unroasted, 090112 for decaffeinated unroasted, 090121 for roasted and 090122 for roasted decaffeinated.
Type matters commercially as well. Arabica and robusta serve different roasters, and the two have different profiles, screen sizes and defect standards. Decide which type, processing and grade you can supply consistently across the year, and record it on your product sheet before you approach a buyer.
The biggest importers of the chapter in the latest year are the United States at $11.7B, Germany at $6.5B, France at $4.0B, Italy at $3.4B, Canada at $2.4B and Spain at $2.2B. Coffee is only part of each figure, so use them as a first cut and then go to customs shipment records filtered to heading 0901.
In those records look for consignees whose origin list already includes India, buyers that repeat monthly, and importers who take both green and roasted lines. A roaster in a large market may be open to a new origin if you give a sample and clear specification, whereas a trader who only buys one origin will not move. The free marketplace on this site shows buyers who publish requirements directly.
An Indian coffee exporter generally needs a business and tax registration, an importer-exporter identity, a foreign-currency bank account, and registration with the sector’s promotion or regulatory body where applicable. Some steps, such as sale registration or sample checks, have applied to coffee in the past, and rules change, so confirm the present procedure with the customs office and the sector body before you sign a contract.
Your export declaration will use India’s national tariff code, longer than six digits. Confirm it per product line with your broker. On the food-safety side, curing works, roasteries and packing houses may need registration, and buyers often ask for a management-system certificate.
Cost the shipment from the farm or curing works outward: purchase or processing, grading and sorting, bagging, warehousing, inland haulage, port charges and paperwork. Then pick an Incoterm. FOB at an Indian port is the neat choice for a first export, and CIF suits buyers who want a delivered figure, provided you hold a current freight quote.
Invoice in a widely used currency and state the validity of the offer. Coffee contracts are sensitive to exchange movements between sale and payment, so a short validity period and clear payment timing protect you. The trade data on this site reports values, not prices, so do not derive a quote from it.
Green coffee should travel in sound bags inside a lined, ventilated container to guard against moisture movement during the voyage, and it needs to stay far from aromatic cargo. Monsoon-season stuffing and long transits raise the risk, so keep bags off wet floors, cover stacks in the yard and inspect the container before loading.
Roasted coffee needs barrier packs and a clear roast date, and often faster transport. Ask your forwarder about consolidating small volumes with other food cargo, and about the destination’s free days at the port, since delays there push up cost and can spoil a relationship with a first-time buyer.
Expect a commercial invoice, packing list, export declaration, transport document and, where asked, a certificate of origin. Buyers of green coffee usually request a plant-health certificate and a quality report, and buyers of certified lots want the certification papers as well. Check each requirement with the buyer and with the destination customs authority.
Align descriptions with the contract and, if a letter of credit is used, with the credit’s exact wording. A small mismatch delays payment, and the buyer rarely pays for the delay.
Pick one product form and two markets from the list above. Study the shipment records for each until you know who buys, how big the lots are and which origins compete. Send samples to five carefully chosen buyers, not fifty, and follow up by referencing what you saw in their own import history.
Ship a modest first lot on secure payment terms, deliver exactly what the sample promised, and ask for structured feedback. Coffee relationships are built on the second and third shipment, and the customs records will eventually show you as an origin to other buyers.
India exported $5.2B of chapter 09 goods in the latest year and ranked 2 of 96 exporters. The chapter combines coffee, tea, mate and spices, so the figure is not a coffee-only number.
Start with the largest chapter importers: the United States at $11.7B, Germany at $6.5B, France at $4.0B, Italy at $3.4B, Canada at $2.4B and Spain at $2.2B. Then filter shipment records to heading 0901.
Heading 0901: 090111 for unroasted, 090112 for decaffeinated unroasted, 090121 for roasted and 090122 for roasted decaffeinated. National extensions follow the six-digit code in India, so ask your broker to confirm the full tariff line for coffee.
Sector registration and other procedures have applied to coffee, and they change. Confirm the current requirements with customs and the sector body before you sign a sales contract.
Use customs shipment records for 0901 to find consignees already buying from India, send targeted samples with a clear specification, and list your lots on the free marketplace.
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