China lifts coffee import tariffs on African nations, reshaping global trade flows

As the world’s largest coffee producer and exporter, Brazil views China as a growing market. For the Chinese, Brazil is expected to remain the main supplier—but not the only one. The Asian country is expanding trade partnerships in the sector. One month ago, it lifted import tariffs on arabica coffee from 53 African countries.

The measure, approved in June, expands tariff-free access that was previously restricted to 33 African nations and now includes the continent’s four largest economies: Nigeria, South Africa, Egypt, and Algeria. It reflects Beijing’s interest in maintaining strong business ties with Africa while avoiding dependence on a single supplier, as coffee consumption continues to grow rapidly in China.

“China has quietly redrawn the global coffee trade map,” said market analyst Sarah Charles in a July 25 article published on the specialized site Coffee Intelligence. The announcement was made during the ministerial meeting of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in Changsha, as reported by China’s Global Times.

The shift in trade policy with Africa is significant and comes amid sanctions imposed by the Trump administration on various raw materials from dozens of countries. This makes China a more attractive and less costly destination for African coffee exports.

“Coffee consumption in China has grown 21% annually since 2010, outpacing global growth. In contrast, the European Union is tightening trade regulations, positioning China as a frictionless buyer,” wrote the analyst.

In January 2024, China’s State Council approved a national plan for China-Africa Economic and Trade Cooperation. Under this policy, the province of Hunan, located in central and western China, is leading the partnership, according to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Within one year, coffee shipments along this route surged 197.8%.

Historically, Africa has exported most of its green coffee to Europe, with a smaller share going to the United States. More recently, however, Ethiopia has shifted its exports toward Asian markets (54.5%), surpassing those to Europe (29.5%), according to data from the Global Times and Coffee Intelligence.

This growth is a direct result of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which is set to take effect in under six months and is expected to hinder African coffee exports to Europe.

Brazil-China relationship remains strong
Despite China’s growing interest in African-origin coffee, its trade relationship with Brazil remains solid, as demand in the Asian country continues to rise and the pace of new market openings also expands.

At present, Brazil’s coffee producers and exporters are beginning to assess how to redirect their shipments. Still, the situation remains speculative and depends on macroeconomic factors, fulfillment of export contracts, and future price movements in international commodity exchanges.

Coffee prices rise in New York amid technical adjustment
Meanwhile, in the United States, the country’s most important coffee industry group, the National Coffee Association (NCA), has yet to take a public stance on the tariffs imposed on Brazilian coffee. The report attempted to contact the group by email but received no response by the time of publication. A sector source said they no longer expect an exemption for Brazilian coffee and believe that discussions with U.S. counterparts may have lost momentum in Washington.

The president of the Brazilian Coffee Exporters Council (Cecafé), Márcio Ferreira, told the publication that the group is working closely with the Brazilian government delegation to continue lobbying U.S. authorities. He emphasized that no organization has “thrown in the towel,” and they still await a response from the Trump administration on either a coffee exemption or the application of lower, more equitable tariffs across all coffee-producing origins.

Source: Globo Rural

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