From 2020 to 2021, the value of globally exported coffee accelerated by 18.1%.
The 5 biggest coffee shippers (Brazil, Switzerland, Colombia, Germany and Vietnam) accounted for about half (49.3%) of all exported coffee during the latest annual reporting period.
From a continental perspective, Europe sold the highest dollar value worth of exported coffee on international markets in 2021 with total shipments valued at $14.5 billion or 39.8% of the world’s total value. In second place at 36.1% was Latin America excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean, ahead of coffee suppliers in Asia with an 11.8% share.
Smaller percentages were generated by providers in Africa (6.8%), North America (4.9%), then Oceania (0.5%) led by Papua New Guinea and Australia.
For research purposes, the 4-digit Harmonized Tariff System (HTS) code prefix for coffee is 0901.
Coffee Exports by Country
Below are the 15 countries that exported the highest dollar value worth of coffee during 2021.
- Brazil: US$5.8 billion (16.1% of total coffee exports)
- Switzerland: $3.6 billion (9.9%)
- Colombia: $3.2 billion (8.8%)
- Germany: $2.94 billion (8.1%)
- Vietnam: $2.35 billion (6.5%)
- Italy: $2.1 billion (5.7%)
- France: $1.4 billion (3.9%)
- Honduras: $1.3 billion (3.6%)
- Ethiopia: $1.2 billion (3.3%)
- Belgium: $1.1 billion (3%)
- Guatemala: $928.4 million (2.6%)
- Netherlands: $905.1 million (2.5%)
- Indonesia: $851.7 million (2.3%)
- United States: $825.6 million (2.3%)
- Peru: $758.6 million (2.1%)
By value, the listed 15 countries shipped four-fifths (80.4%) of global coffee exports in 2021.
Among the top exporters, the fastest-growing coffee exporters from 2020 to 2021 in terms of their global sales were: Ethiopia (up 49.4%), Honduras (up 48.2%), Guatemala (up 42.4%) and Colombia (up 26.4%).
Year over year, the lone decliner for exported coffee sales was France via a -0.6% flatlining decrease.
Countries Earning Biggest Surpluses from Trading Coffee
The following countries posted the highest positive net exports for coffee during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the surplus between the value of each country’s coffee exports and its import purchases for that same commodity.
- Brazil: US$5.8 billion (net export surplus up 26.9% since 2017)
- Colombia: $3 billion (up 17%)
- Switzerland: $2.6 billion (up 73.5%)
- Vietnam: $2.3 billion (down -24.3%)
- Honduras: $1.3 billion (down 0%)
- Ethiopia: $1.2 billion (up 26.9%)
- Guatemala: $925.4 million (up 23.8%)
- Indonesia: $819 million (down -29%)
- Peru: $754.8 million (up 6.7%)
- Uganda: $593.9 million (up 10.3%)
- Nicaragua: $509.4 million (down -0.4%)
- India: $508.5 million (up 3%)
- Costa Rica: $346.2 million (up 16.8%)
- Italy: $314.2 million (reversing a -$164.6 million deficit)
- Mexico: $285.8 million (down -12.6%)
Brazil generates the highest surplus in the international trade of coffee. In turn, this positive cashflow confirms Brazil’s strong competitive advantage for this specific product category.
Countries Incurring Biggest Deficits from Trading Coffee
The following countries posted the highest negative net exports for coffee during 2021. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports. Thus, the statistics below present the deficit between the value of each country’s coffee import purchases and its exports for that same commodity.
- United States: -US$6.1 billion (net export deficit up 12% since 2017)
- France: -$1.7 billion (down -0.9%)
- Japan: -$1.3 billion (down -8.9%)
- Germany: -$1.2 billion (down -3.5%)
- South Korea: -$910.9 million (up 39.8%)
- Canada: -$835.3 million (up 24.2%)
- Spain: -$754.8 million (down -5.7%)
- Russia: -$722.3 million (up 19.8%)
- United Kingdom: -$592.1 million (down -15.1%)
- Australia: -$489.6 million (up 2.5%)
- Netherlands: -$423.9 million (down -17%)
- Mainland China: -$393.3 million (up 1094.8%)
- Austria: -$365.2 million (up 2.5%)
- Saudi Arabia: -$347.3 million (up 63.3%)
- Belgium: -$340 million (up 55.9%)
The United States of America posted the biggest deficit in the international trade of coffee. In turn, this negative cashflow confirms America’s strong competitive disadvantage for this specific product category but also signals opportunities for coffee-supplying countries that help satisfy the powerful consumer demand.
Coffee Exporting Companies
According to the Tropical Commodity Coalition (TCC), green coffee beans are a minimally processed product accounting for approximately 95% of coffee exports. Ironically, coffee-producing countries earn comparatively little from the sale and export of their products. That is because a large share of coffee profits go to supply chain middlemen and large roaster conglomerates.
International coffee trading companies operating in producer countries via joint ventures with local middlemen. The following are examples of coffee-trading companies located in the country shown within parentheses:
- Barbera Coffee Company (Italy)
- Coffee Cabana Brazil (Brazil)
- Maxwell House (United States)
- Miko Coffee (Belgium)
- Nestlé (Switzerland)
- Neumann Gruppe AG (Germany)
- O’Coffee – Brazilian Estates (Brazil)
- Ospina Coffee Company (Colombia)
- Simexco Daklak Ltd (Vietnam)
- Starbucks Corporation (United States)
Searchable List of Coffee Exporting Countries in 2021
You can change the presentation order by clicking the triangle icon at the top of any of the columns below. The right-most column highlights the percentage change in the value of globally exported coffee from 2020 to 2021.
| Rank | Exporter | Coffee Exports (US$) | 2020-1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Brazil | $5,833,257,000 | +16.8% |
| 2. | Switzerland | $3,601,379,000 | +26.1% |
| 3. | Colombia | $3,188,816,000 | +26.4% |
| 4. | Germany | $2,940,870,000 | +13.7% |
| 5. | Vietnam | $2,350,693,000 | +18.9% |
| 6. | Italy | $2,060,551,000 | +19.1% |
| 7. | France | $1,409,146,000 | -0.6% |
| 8. | Honduras | $1,292,003,000 | +48.2% |
| 9. | Ethiopia | $1,189,214,000 | +49.4% |
| 10. | Belgium | $1,089,649,000 | +20.4% |
| 11. | Guatemala | $928,384,000 | +42.4% |
| 12. | Netherlands | $905,120,000 | +13.8% |
| 13. | Indonesia | $851,706,000 | +3.6% |
| 14. | United States | $825,570,000 | +5.1% |
| 15. | Peru | $758,569,000 | +18.4% |
| 16. | India | $627,240,000 | +35% |
| 17. | Uganda | $594,174,000 | +15.3% |
| 18. | Canada | $588,107,000 | +23.1% |
| 19. | Nicaragua | $509,682,000 | +15.8% |
| 20. | Poland | $397,912,000 | +11.2% |
| 21. | Mexico | $373,931,000 | -9% |
| 22. | Costa Rica | $368,979,000 | +12.2% |
| 23. | Spain | $360,241,000 | +23.9% |
| 24. | United Kingdom | $354,481,000 | +2.3% |
| 25. | Kenya | $247,977,000 | +14.9% |
| 26. | Papua New Guinea | $175,310,000 | +34.9% |
| 27. | Czech Republic | $172,671,000 | +1.7% |
| 28. | Tanzania | $171,526,000 | +15.7% |
| 29. | Sweden | $160,552,000 | +13.8% |
| 30. | Slovakia | $136,387,000 | -8.2% |
| 31. | Portugal | $125,510,000 | +27.6% |
| 32. | El Salvador | $122,869,000 | +13.6% |
| 33. | Austria | $102,572,000 | +16.6% |
| 34. | China | $96,855,000 | -29.6% |
| 35. | Denmark | $96,353,000 | +73% |
| 36. | Bulgaria | $88,856,000 | -3.4% |
| 37. | Rwanda | $85,058,000 | +19.2% |
| 38. | Laos | $83,562,000 | -2.6% |
| 39. | Russia | $64,577,000 | +28.1% |
| 40. | Lithuania | $64,115,000 | +0.4% |
| 41. | Burundi | $46,524,000 | +51.1% |
| 42. | Singapore | $46,386,000 | +27.8% |
| 43. | Hungary | $45,500,000 | +30.1% |
| 44. | Luxembourg | $45,374,000 | +4% |
| 45. | Finland | $44,446,000 | +17.5% |
| 46. | Slovenia | $43,815,000 | +13.1% |
| 47. | Japan | $38,514,000 | +18.8% |
| 48. | Turkey | $35,122,000 | +15.8% |
| 49. | Latvia | $34,694,000 | -10% |
| 50. | Cameroon | $31,107,000 | -1.1% |
| 51. | Panama | $28,581,000 | +9.8% |
| 52. | Greece | $27,828,000 | +30.9% |
| 53. | Malaysia | $27,617,000 | -20.5% |
| 54. | Yemen | $26,472,000 | +24% |
| 55. | Ivory Coast | $23,679,000 | -73.7% |
| 56. | Ireland | $23,528,000 | -15.9% |
| 57. | Democr. Rep. Congo | $21,785,000 | +27.8% |
| 58. | South Africa | $21,213,000 | +34.2% |
| 59. | Australia | $20,831,000 | -8% |
| 60. | Jamaica | $20,645,000 | +17.4% |
| 61. | Romania | $17,798,000 | +43.3% |
| 62. | Croatia | $17,371,000 | -13.7% |
| 63. | Timor-Leste | $16,502,000 | +27.3% |
| 64. | Ecuador | $16,477,000 | +66.2% |
| 65. | Taiwan | $16,406,000 | +24.7% |
| 66. | Zambia | $15,304,000 | +124.8% |
| 67. | Dominican Republic | $12,227,000 | +65.9% |
| 68. | Lebanon | $10,981,000 | -51.7% |
| 69. | Serbia | $10,222,000 | +3% |
| 70. | Bolivia | $10,206,000 | +17.5% |
| 71. | Jordan | $8,443,000 | -34.9% |
| 72. | Bosnia/Herzegovina | $8,088,000 | +6.4% |
| 73. | Cuba | $6,947,000 | +2.9% |
| 74. | Venezuela | $6,810,000 | +149.4% |
| 75. | Armenia | $6,490,000 | +25.8% |
| 76. | Djibouti | $6,139,000 | +29.4% |
| 77. | United Arab Emirates | $6,108,000 | -87% |
| 78. | Belarus | $5,833,000 | +85.4% |
| 79. | Syria | $5,822,000 | +9% |
| 80. | South Korea | $5,555,000 | +41.5% |
| 81. | Norway | $5,407,000 | -11.6% |
| 82. | Estonia | $5,303,000 | -22.7% |
| 83. | Hong Kong | $4,807,000 | -9.1% |
| 84. | Uruguay | $4,669,000 | +1204.2% |
| 85. | Saudi Arabia | $4,270,000 | +58.1% |
| 86. | Thailand | $3,682,000 | +22.4% |
| 87. | Morocco | $3,351,000 | +6.1% |
| 88. | Sierra Leone | $3,271,000 | -42.2% |
| 89. | Guinea | $3,167,000 | -59.4% |
| 90. | Israel | $2,748,000 | +3.5% |
| 91. | Myanmar | $2,570,000 | +5.5% |
| 92. | New Zealand | $2,536,000 | -29.8% |
| 93. | Malawi | $2,472,000 | +31.4% |
| 94. | Kuwait | $2,138,000 | -17.5% |
| 95. | Angola | $2,119,000 | +11.6% |
| 96. | Ukraine | $1,970,000 | +9.1% |
| 97. | Sri Lanka | $1,715,000 | +421.3% |
| 98. | Cyprus | $1,569,000 | -76.6% |
| 99. | North Macedonia | $1,547,000 | -21% |
| 100. | Togo | $1,440,000 | -75.4% |
The 100 top exporters of coffee accounted for 99.6% of the total value of globally exported coffee during 2021.
Biggest Exporters of Coffee by Shipment Weight
In 2021, 9 million tons of coffee was exported around the world. That physical volume was 4% higher than the 8.7 million tons for 2017 and represents a flatlining 1.1% increase compared to the 8.9 million tons in 2020.
Listed below are the 15 leading coffee exporters ranked by tonnage shipped.
- Brazil: 2,288,336 tons of exported coffee (down -3.8% from 2020 to 2021)
- Vietnam: 1,251,495 tons (up 0.8%)
- Colombia: 700,643 tons (down -0.8%)
- Germany: 598,562 tons (up 2.2%)
- Honduras: 389,586 tons (up 20.9%)
- Indonesia: 382,928 tons (up 0.9%)
- Ethiopia: 304,209 tons (up 31.3%)
- Uganda: 299,262 tons (down -9.4%)
- Belgium: 298,127 tons (up 6.7%)
- Italy: 286,953 tons (up 11.7%)
- India: 264,412 tons (up 27.6%)
- Guatemala: 225,787 tons (up 19.8%)
- Peru: 191,965 tons (down -10%)
- Nicaragua: 153,152 tons (up 1.9%)
- Netherlands: 127,602 tons (up 6.3%)
The top 5 exporters of coffee by shipment weight (Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, Germany and Honduras) were responsible for well over half (58.1%) of the total tonnage for globally exported coffee.
The fastest gainers in terms of exported coffee tonnage were Ethiopia (up 31.3% from 2020), India (up 27.6%), Honduras (up 20.9%), Guatemala (up 19.8%) then Italy (up 11.7%).
Year over year, there were 4 decliners among the world’s greatest coffee shippers by tonnage. The decliners were Peru (down -10%), Uganda (down -9.4%), world coffee leader Brazil (down -3.8%) and Colombia (down -0.8%).
Average Unit Prices for Exported Coffee by Major Supplying Countries
The world’s average price for exported coffee was US$4,034 per ton in 2021. That benchmark is 7.6% higher than the $3,749 global average for 2017 and 16.8% greater than the average unit price of $3,455 per ton in 2020.
The list provides the average unit prices for coffee sold by the top 15 exporters by value in 2021. Entries are ranked in descending order starting with countries that shipped the highest dollar worth of exported coffee.
- Brazil: US$2,549 per ton of exported coffee (up 21.4% from 2020)
- Switzerland: $33,088 per ton (up 13.4%)
- Colombia: $4,551 per ton (up 27.4%)
- Germany: $4,913 per ton (up 11.3%)
- Vietnam: $1,878 per ton (up 18%)
- Italy: $7,181 per ton (up 6.6%)
- France: $22,266 per ton (up 0.3%)
- Honduras: $3,316 per ton (up 22.5%)
- Ethiopia: $3,909 per ton (up 13.8%)
- Belgium: $3,655 per ton (up 12.8%)
- Guatemala: $4,112 per ton (up 18.9%)
- Netherlands: $7,093 per ton (up 7.0%)
- Indonesia: $2,224 per ton (up 2.6%)
- United States: $7,261 per ton (up 1.7%)
- Peru: $3,952 per ton (up 31.6%)
The costliest coffee with the highest average cost per ton comes from Switzerland and France, well ahead of coffee shipped by the United States of America and Italy.
The least expensive coffee is exported by Vietnam, Indonesia and Brazil. The latter may well benefit economies of scale given its world leadership in global coffee sales.
See also Coffee Imports by Country, Tea Exports by Country and Top Soft Drinks Exporters by Country
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Field Listing: Exports – Commodities. Accessed on May 29, 2022
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on May 29, 2022
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on May 29, 2022
Wikipedia, List of coffee companies. Accessed on May 29, 2022
s
