Getting a container to Europe
Shipping Green Coffee From India to Europe
Logistics, not cup score, is the usual reason a European roaster never tries a new origin. Here is what the route from India actually involves, and which parts are genuinely worth worrying about.
Most roasters who have never bought Indian coffee assume the hard part is the shipping. It is not, particularly — the route is well established and the paperwork is lighter than for several origins already on your list. The hard part is knowing what to ask for, which is what this is.
Ports
Indian coffee for export moves mainly through the west and south coast:
- Cochin (Kochi), Kerala — the traditional coffee port, closest to the Malabar monsooning warehouses.
- Mangalore (New Mangalore), Karnataka — nearest deep-water port to the Chikmagalur growing districts.
- Chennai, Tamil Nadu — east coast, used for some routings.
- Nhava Sheva (JNPT), Mumbai — the largest container port, used where sailing frequency matters more than distance.
From a Chikmagalur curing works the coffee travels by road to the port. That inland leg is short compared with most origins.
On the European side the usual discharge ports are Antwerp, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Trieste and Le Havre. Antwerp and Hamburg carry most of the specialty green coffee warehousing capacity.
Transit times
Plan on four to six weeks port to port, plus the inland legs at both ends and customs clearance.
That is an indicative range and not a promise. Transhipment adds time, and routings via the Suez Canal have been subject to disruption and rerouting around the Cape, which adds meaningfully to the voyage. Ask your supplier or forwarder for a current routing rather than working from a historical figure.
Build the schedule backwards from when you need the coffee:
| Step | Allow |
|---|---|
| Contract to pre-shipment sample | Varies with harvest timing |
| PSS approval | 1–2 weeks including courier |
| Booking and stuffing | 1–2 weeks |
| Port to port | 4–6 weeks |
| Discharge, clearance, delivery | 1–2 weeks |
Duty and classification
Green coffee sits under HS heading 0901. For the EU:
- Unroasted, not decaffeinated coffee (0901.11) enters at 0% duty.
- Unroasted, decaffeinated coffee (0901.12) is dutiable — normally 8.3%.
So for ordinary green coffee the tariff is not a cost line. Confirm the current TARIC code and rate for your specific product before you rely on it, since classifications and preferences change.
Phytosanitary certificates
A common misconception, worth correcting because it wastes people's time: coffee beans do not require a phytosanitary certificate for EU import. The requirement applies to whole, fresh coffee berries — cherry, not beans.
If a supplier tells you a phyto is needed for green beans, it is worth asking why.
The document set
What travels with the container:
- Commercial invoice and packing list
- Bill of lading
- Certificate of origin
- ICO certificate of origin (International Coffee Organization)
- Weight and quality certificates, where contracted
- Organic transaction certificate / Certificate of Inspection, if the lot is certified organic
- The DDS reference number under EUDR, from December 2026
That last one is new and it is the one most likely to hold a container. It is filed by you as the importer, not by the exporter, and it needs origin data in hand well before the vessel sails — see EUDR for coffee.
Packing, and why it matters more on this route
A four-to-six week voyage through the tropics is a humidity exposure, not just a delay. Coffee crossing the equator in a steel box goes through a daily temperature cycle, and moisture moves.
- 60 kg or 30 kg jute is the traditional pack and breathes freely. Fine for prompt shipment and prompt roasting.
- GrainPro or equivalent barrier liners inside the jute substantially slow moisture exchange. Worth it for coffee you will hold, for certified lots, and for anything where the specification depends on moisture staying where it was at shipment.
- Vacuum packing goes further and costs more, and is usually reserved for high-value micro-lots.
Ask what the quoted price includes. A price with GrainPro and a price without are not the same offer.
Container or less than a container
A 20-foot container takes roughly 18–19.2 tonnes of coffee in 60 kg jute, depending on packing and stuffing method. That is a large first order for a small roaster.
The alternatives:
- LCL (less than container load) — your pallets share a box. More expensive per kilo, slower, more handling, but it exists.
- Buying ex-warehouse in Europe from an importer who has already landed the coffee. Higher price, no import mechanics, no minimum beyond a few bags.
- Sharing a container with another roaster, which happens more than people admit and works when both parties are organised.
There is no shame in starting with LCL or a shared box. The first container from a new origin is a relationship test as much as a purchase.
What actually goes wrong
In rough order of likelihood:
- Documents late or wrong, holding the container at destination.
- Booking slipped, pushing the sailing by a week or more.
- Transhipment delay on a routing that changed after booking.
- Moisture out of specification on arrival, usually traceable to drying or packing rather than the voyage.
- Quality not matching the approved PSS — rare when a PSS was actually approved, common when it was skipped.
Four of those five are avoidable by agreeing deadlines in the contract rather than assuming goodwill.
From this estate
Hoysala ships from India to the port of your choice, packed in 60 kg jute with 7-layer eco-tag bags, and cures and grades in-house before the coffee leaves Chikmagalur.
Before the container, there is the sample sequence and the specification — how to read a green coffee offer list covers what you are actually contracting to.