Export
Coffee Export
Guides
Export reference
Each page covers one part of the process, written to the level of detail a buyer needs to write the clause rather than to recognise the term.
- Green Coffee PackagingThe standard East African export presentation is a 60 kg jute bag, optionally with a hermetic liner. Liners slow moisture and oxygen exchange and are normal on specialty lots; bulk container liners suit high-volume commercial Robusta and Arabica where handling cost matters more than lot separation.
- Coffee BagsThe export coffee bag is a woven sack of jute or sisal, filled to a nominal weight — 60 kg across East Africa, 69 kg in much of Central America, and 30 kg for small specialty presentations. It is a breathable container: it protects against physical damage, not against moisture or oxygen.
- GrainPro & Barrier LinersA hermetic liner is a multi-layer plastic bag placed inside a jute sack to restrict moisture and oxygen exchange. GrainPro is a brand name that has become the generic term. Liners meaningfully extend the useful life of green coffee — but only if they are properly sealed and remain undamaged.
- Container Loading for Green CoffeeThere is no universal answer. A 20ft container is usually payload-limited rather than volume-limited for green coffee in bags: the weight ceiling is reached before the space runs out. The real limit is the lower of the container’s payload plate, the shipping line’s stated maximum, and the road weight limit on the origin leg — which is why this page gives you a calculator rather than a figure.
- Coffee Shipping DocumentsA green coffee shipment normally travels with a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading and certificate of origin, plus whichever additional certificates the destination, the contract and the applicable regulations require. Documentation requirements depend on origin, destination, contract terms and applicable regulations, and should be confirmed per shipment.
- Green Coffee Quality InspectionPre-shipment inspection verifies that the parcel about to be loaded matches what was contracted. It normally covers sampling to an agreed method, physical analysis — moisture, screen, defects, sometimes water activity and density — and cup evaluation against the approved sample, with weight and bag count verified at stuffing.
- Coffee FumigationGreen coffee is not routinely fumigated. Where fumigation appears in a shipment it is usually either a specific destination requirement, a response to a detected pest issue, or a treatment of wood packaging material rather than of the coffee itself. Requirements vary by destination and change, so they must be confirmed per shipment.
- Incoterms for CoffeeGreen coffee is traded overwhelmingly on FOB, CFR and CIF, with FCA and EXW occasionally used. Under all three of the common terms, risk passes to the buyer when the goods are on board at the port of shipment — what changes is who pays for freight and, under CIF, insurance.
Sequence
From approved sample to sealed container
Nine steps. The two that absorb most of the effort and most of the risk are milling to the approved standard and the loading itself.
- Buyer specification received
- Origin and lot selection
- Samples dispatched
- Buyer cupping and approval
- Contract issued
- Milling to the approved preparation
- Pre-shipment inspection
- Export documentation
- Container loading and shipment
Logistics
Ports of loading
Four of the six origins we work in are landlocked, so the inland leg is the largest single source of schedule variance. Port pages are presented in context rather than as standalone keyword pages.
Dar es Salaam
TZDARTanzania
Primary Tanzanian gateway and the Central Corridor outlet for Burundi, Rwanda and parts of Uganda. Coffee normally moves from the Moshi or Mbeya dry mills by road, and is stuffed either at an inland depot or at a port-adjacent warehouse.
Mombasa
KEMBAKenya
The Northern Corridor gateway. Handles all Kenyan coffee exports and a large share of Ugandan volume, with rail and road links from Nairobi and Kampala.
Djibouti
DJJIBDjibouti
Ethiopia’s principal transit port. Coffee is trucked from Addis Ababa, and the road transit leg is the main variable in Ethiopian shipment planning.
Tanga
TZTGTTanzania
Secondary northern Tanzanian port. Occasionally used for northern-highland coffee where the routing suits, with fewer direct services than Dar es Salaam.
How many bags fit in a container?
There is no universal answer — the binding limit is the lowest of the container’s payload plate, the line’s stated maximum and the road weight limits on your route. The calculator does the arithmetic on figures you supply.