A booming coffee class and zero-tariff policy drive China's push for African bean imports
A staff member pours coffee for guests at the Xiaowazi, or Little Hollow, a coffee plantation in Yunnan province, China. AFP-Yonhap
China is reaching out to Africa's top coffee-producing nations as part of a broader strategy to secure new supply chains overseas.
Observers say the shift — which coincides with Brazil seeking new buyers in China because of a new 50 percent U.S. tariff on Brazilian coffee — is driven by China's strong domestic demand.
The scale of this push is clear: last week, Beijing authorized 183 new Brazilian coffee companies to export to China. This is in addition to a $2.5 billion deal signed in November between China's largest coffee chain, Luckin Coffee, and a Brazilian export agency which would supply 240,000 tons of beans between 2025 and 2029.
Meanwhile, Chinese buyers are also turning to Africa, thanks in part to Beijing's new zero-tariff policy on products from 53 African nations, which has made African coffee more competitive in the Chinese market. For countries such as Ethiopia, the birthplace of Arabica coffee, and Uganda — known for fruity Arabica and bold Robusta — this offers a golden opportunity to access the massive Chinese market.
Sub-Saharan Africa geoeconomic analyst Aly-Khan Satchu said the strategy was a move to "lock in supply," leveraging U.S. tariff uncertainty and a "super spike in coffee demand in China."
"China appears to be leveraging U.S. tariff-related uncertainty and volatility to lock in supply, a strategy that it has utilized to great effect across other verticals," Satchu said.
Among Chinese companies spearheading the push is Cotti Coffee, a rapidly expanding Chinese brand founded by former Luckin Coffee executives. In June, it started with the signing of an agreement by Rwanda's agriculture ministry to invest in a new coffee industry development park.
Cotti, which operates more than 14,000 shops, has also signed deals in Ethiopia and Uganda. Its executive vice-president expressed interest in procuring 5,000 tons of Ugandan Arabica beans a year and discussed plans for local processing factories.
Ambassador Juju Nsababera, Uganda's consul general in Guangzhou, described it as "more than trade — it's value creation, branding potential, and deeper agro-industrial collaboration."
The Ethiopian embassy in Beijing recently held a discussion with 30 Chinese coffee companies to explore trade opportunities and coffee demand in the Chinese market. A separate strategic agreement was signed in June between the Ethiopian Tea and Coffee Authority and the Chinese brand Saturnbird Coffee to increase the purchase of Ethiopian beans.
Du Xiaohui, who oversees African affairs in China's foreign ministry, said in May that Africa's coffee exports to China had grown by 70.4 percent in the first quarter of this year.
According to Chinese customs data, coffee imports from Ethiopia saw a nearly fivefold increase in the first half of the year to 30,621 tons. Imports from Uganda more than doubled, rising from 2,660 tons to 6,150 tons over the same period.
This growing trade is driven by the booming Chinese middle class and a demand for premium, specialty coffee. Urban consumers are increasingly seeking out high-quality beans from several nations, with Ethiopian coffee, in particular, highly sought after for its unique flavor profiles and status as the birthplace of Arabica coffee.
"Demand for coffee is surging in China's middle class, and Uganda's premium coffee brands are among favored beans," according to Lauren Johnston, a China-Africa expert at the AustChina Institute.
Johnston said a prolonged drought in Brazil — the world's largest coffee bean producer and exporter — since last year had cut output following reduced Arabica coffee harvests.
Republic of the Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, left, and Chinese President Xi Jinping shake hands at the opening ceremony of the ninth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Summit, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Sept. 5, 2024. Reuters-Yonhap
Coffee imports from Africa were also part of China's promise to elevate trade with the continent, especially to increase African exports, and coffee was an easy way to do this, Johnston said.
"Uganda, in particular, is rich in smallholder farmers who may be able to rise into higher income brackets due to Chinese demand, thereby helping to realize long-term China-Africa poverty alleviation goals."
Furthermore, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Ivory Coast, also coffee producers, are angling for the Chinese market as the new zero-tariff policy on African exports makes them more competitive, especially amid U.S. tariff tensions.
However, African coffee producers still primarily export to traditional markets in Europe and North America. For instance, coffee exporters such as Uganda, Ethiopia and Ivory Coast still have strong, established relationships with traditional markets in Europe and the Middle East.
Read the full story at SCMP.