The market for roasted coffee is somewhat less concentrated than
that for soluble coffee. Although market concentration in the roast and ground
sector increased significantly, particularly during the 1980s and in the late
1990s, the development of the specialty sector has slowed the trend and the number
of small roasters operating worldwide did increase significantly for a while.
Small roasters rarely buy direct from origin, but make their purchases through
importers who are able to offer some security of supply and cost savings for
small lots. In many cases importing direct from origin involves buying a full
container load of around 300 bags (18 tonnes), which is simply too large an
order for most small roasters.
As a result of the development of the specialty and gourmet sectors in many
countries single origin roasted coffee are now widely available. However,
blends of roasted coffee from different origins remain the most predominant
roasted coffee product in the overall market today and this makes it difficult
for producers to enter the retail market on their own. The trade in roasted
coffee from origin is limited: in 2009/10 only 222,500 bags were
exported from origin in roasted form compared to 6.9 million bags GBE of
soluble and 85.4 million bags of green coffee. In
total, roasted coffee accounted for just 0.24% of all coffee exports, but the
published statistics on this trade are notoriously inaccurate with reported
imports from producing countries greatly exceeding reported exports from those
origins. Even so, and perhaps somewhat surprisingly,
Colombia was recorded as the largest exporter of roasted coffee in 2009/10,
taking over the top spot from Brazil which had held the top position for many
years, although there have been the occasional year in the past in
which its position of dominance has been surpassed by countries such as the
Dominican Republic.
There are several obstacles to exporting roasted coffee from origin. None of
them are insurmountable but together they form a significant barrier to this
trade. Roasted coffee rapidly loses its flavour unless it is vacuum packed or
gas flushed. A supplier wishing to export must therefore install an appropriate
packing facility.
Furthermore, consumers are becoming increasingly sophisticated and demand high
quality packaging that requires a significant level of investment.
Additionally, legislation in importing countries frequently insists that packs
are marked with a ‘sell by’ or ‘use by’ date.
Transporting the product to market from origin can take a considerable amount
of time and this puts the exporter at a disadvantage compared to a more local
roaster who is able to offer the retailer a product with a longer shelf life.
Exporters of roasted coffee therefore need to develop speedy distribution
systems in order to minimize this disadvantage. This usually requires the
active collaboration of agents or specialized importers or roasters in the
target market(s).
Updated 11/2010