Editor’s choice
Editor’s choice
A new dataset mapping global coffee supply chains reveals significant market concentration, with the top ten trading companies handling 35% of global exports from 10 key coffee-producing countries. The top 30 companies account for 55% according to the new dataset analysed by Trase. The data also highlight the potential for EU deforestation rules to influence coffee sourcing practices globally.
Oxford, United Kingdom; Stockholm, Sweden – Brazil and Vietnam are the world’s leading coffee suppliers, accounting for 32% and 18% of global exports, respectively. Combined with Colombia and Indonesia, these four nations provide two-thirds of the world’s coffee. The European Union is by far the largest market for coffee (making up 40% of global imports), followed by the US (18%).
It is very exciting to apply Trase’s expertise in subnational supply chain mapping at a global scale, especially to a commodity like coffee that many people feel connected to and are drinking daily.
Harry Biddle, Trase Data Lead at Stockholm Environment Institute.
A few major coffee producers are particularly dependent on the EU market, notably Uganda (57%), Honduras (58%) and India (58%), suggesting these countries may be particularly impacted by incoming EU regulations.
Additionally, 79% of global coffee is imported by companies that supply the EU, suggesting that upcoming EU regulations have the potential to drive industry-wide changes to sustainability practices.
The EU imports 40% of global coffee, but the companies that supply it cover nearly four-fifths of the global market. Once they've put processes for traceability and compliance in place, many of them could plausibly extend these standards to markets beyond Europe. This means the coming deforestation law could punch far above the EU's weight.
Mark Titley, Trase researcher at Global Canopy.
For several key coffee-exporting countries, the dataset maps exports to specific production regions. For example, the US and EU source from different regions within Indonesia, thanks to their differing tastes for arabica and robusta coffee.
The coffee sector, valued at hundreds of billions of dollars annually, faces sustainability challenges, including deforestation, human rights violations, and climate vulnerability. With approximately 44% of smallholder farmers living below the poverty line, the data underscores the need for improved transparency to strengthen accountability and support risk assessments for financial institutions and corporate buyers.
For the first time, we can follow coffee from major production regions through the companies trading it to the markets where it is consumed. This gives us a much clearer picture of where influence and risk sit in the coffee supply chain – and where action from buyers, financiers and governments could have the greatest impact for the millions of farmers whose livelihoods are at stake.
Mark Titley, Trase
Senior Research Fellow and Team Leader for Trase Research and Development
SEI Headquarters
Trase is a data-driven transparency initiative founded and led by Global Canopy and Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). We map international trade in agricultural commodities and provide open-access data, insights, and tools that help companies, financial institutions, and governments strengthen accountability for their sustainability goals. www.trase.earth
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