Export

Coffee Export

Packaging, loading, documentation and inspection — the operational half of a green coffee transaction, and the half where an otherwise well-bought coffee most often goes wrong.

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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

The export sequence.

Step 1
Lot selection
Identifying parcels at station or mill level that can meet the specification, and confirming the crop supports it.
Step 2
Sampling and approval
Offer samples drawn and dispatched; buyer cups and approves; approved sample sealed and retained by both parties.
Step 3
Contract
Goods, quantity, price basis, delivery term, quality basis, shipment window and payment agreed.
Step 4
Milling and preparation
Hulling, screening, density separation and colour sorting to the contracted grade and screen.
Step 5
Pre-shipment QC
Sampling to the agreed method, physical analysis, cup evaluation against the approved sample.
Step 6
Inspection
Independent survey where the contract or the payment terms require it.
Step 7
Documentation
Export declaration, certificate of origin, the origin regulator’s quality or export certificate, and any conditional certificates.
Step 8
Container loading
Container inspected, lined and stuffed under supervision; bag count, weights, seal number and photographs recorded.
Step 9
Shipment
Bill of lading issued; document set assembled and presented per the payment terms.

Where the work concentrates

Milling and preparation: Getting from an approved sample to a full parcel at the same standard is a mechanical problem — screen settings, gravity table calibration, colour sorter passes — and it is where preparation quality is actually determined.
Loading: The last point at which anything can be verified. Container condition, lining, desiccant, stow pattern and the loading record are the difference between a clean arrival and a claim.

How coffee leaves each origin

Export routing and marketing channel by origin
Origin	Port	Marketing and regulation	Schedule note
Tanzania	Dar es Salaam, Tanga	Tanzania Coffee Board: auctions at zonal centres, plus direct export under contracts registered with the Board	Domestic road or rail to port
Kenya	Mombasa	Coffee Board of Kenya (Coffee Act 2026): Nairobi Coffee Exchange auction and regulated direct sales	Short domestic leg
Uganda	Mombasa, Dar es Salaam	Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Industry and Fisheries (coffee functions of the former UCDA since January 2025)	Landlocked; corridor choice affects transit and documents
Rwanda	Mombasa, Dar es Salaam	NAEB export licence, quality certificate and certificate of origin	Landlocked; long road leg on either corridor
Burundi	Dar es Salaam, Mombasa	ODECA, which oversees washing stations and export marketing	Landlocked; long road leg on either corridor
Ethiopia	Djibouti	Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority registers export contracts; ECX is one channel among several	Landlocked; road transit from Addis Ababa

Institutional arrangements change. Checked September 2026; the regulator and document set for a given shipment are confirmed at contract.

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
TZDAR
Tanzania
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
KEMBA
Kenya
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
DJJIB
Djibouti
Ethiopia’s principal transit port. Coffee is trucked from Addis Ababa, and the road transit leg is the main variable in Ethiopian shipment planning.
- ethiopia
Tanga
TZTGT
Tanzania
Secondary northern Tanzanian port. Occasionally used for northern-highland coffee where the routing suits, with fewer direct services than Dar es Salaam.
- tanzania

Questions about the export operation

What does a green coffee exporter do?

Selects lots at origin, arranges sampling and approval, contracts, oversees milling and preparation to the contracted specification, runs pre-shipment quality control, prepares export documentation and supervises container loading.

Which ports do you export from?

Dar es Salaam and Tanga for Tanzania, Mombasa for Kenya and much Ugandan coffee, Djibouti for Ethiopia. Rwandan and Burundian coffee routes via either the Northern or Central Corridor depending on the shipment.

How long does preparation take after a contract is signed?

It depends on whether the parcel is already milled to the contracted specification. Re-screening or a tighter preparation adds mill time; a new separation adds more. Raise it at the enquiry stage so it is built into the shipment window.

Do you supervise container loading?

Yes. Bag count, weights, seal number and loading photographs are recorded for each shipment. It is inexpensive, and it is the evidence that resolves most arrival disputes.

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.

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