The mornings of countless people in the world start with a cup or two of coffee, and the supply is kept coming from these 10 countries that export the most coffee in the world.
Coffee is one finicky crop to grow. Its requirements can be pretty tough and especially specific, that is why it only thrives in a specific area around the equator. The so-called Bean Belt – located around the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn – are where you can find the biggest producers of the beloved beverage, and as is expected, the countries that export the most coffee in the world as well.
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For this list, we used data from the International Coffee Organization (ICO), an organization composed of the world’s coffee exporters and importers, and just converted the unit of measure to metric tons. This organization keeps track of the global market activity, correct practices, and relevant news and information.
The figures presented on this list are the total coffee export quantity from October 2015 to February 2016, and are listed in the total number of metric tons exported for that period. It does not include the type of beans exported.
Here’s your list of the 10 countries that export the most coffee in the world, feeding the caffeine cravings of the countries that consume the most coffee in the world.
10. Mexico
54,840 Metric Tons
Mexico is not just one of the world’s largest producers of coffee; it is also one of the 10 countries that export the most coffee in the world. Mexican production and exports are on a rise – a welcome change after years of a hard-hit economic dilemma at the height of the Mexican coffee crisis.
9. Ethiopia
60,660 Metric Tons
Ethiopia is the largest producer of coffee in Africa. The 9th of the 10 countries that export the most coffee in the world consume half of all their produce. The other half is distributed to its biggest markets in Europe, North America, and East Asia.
8. Uganda
85,260 Metric Tons
While Ethiopia may be the leading producer of coffee in the African continent, the top exporter rank goes to Uganda. They are also the largest exporter of the Robusta coffee in Africa.
7. Peru
92,250 Metric Tons
Coffee production in this South American country dates back to as early as the 1700s. Peru is not on the top 10 list of the world’s biggest coffee producers, but it is on the list of countries that export the most coffee in the world because they only keep 10% of their total production for their domestic consumption. Their exports are mostly spread throughout Europe and North America.
6. Honduras
102,420 Metric Tons
The coffee production industry in Honduras was not among the old-timer production giants, but its rise to prominence in the global market helped the country recover from bankruptcy post-civil unrest. In 2011, it broke records for being the biggest coffee producer in Central America and rose to ranks as the second-highest exporter of Arabica coffee. There is no doubt that Honduras has cemented its ranks among the 10 countries that export the most coffee in the world.
5. Indonesia
109,800 Metric Tons
Indonesia is one of the only three Asian countries on the list of countries that export the most coffee in the world. Coffee cultivation in Indonesia began in the late 1600s, through the Dutch who had Indonesia as its colony at the time. Indonesia then became the first country outside of Arabia and Africa to grow coffee on a large scale.
4. India
120,000 Metric Tons
Indian coffee is grown primarily in the South, where the heavy monsoon rains help cultivate the exported coffee. The majority of all the Indian coffee exports end up in Europe.
3. Colombia
341,520 Metric Tons
The majority of the coffee produced in Colombia is grown in a region called the Colombian Coffee Region or the Eje Cafetero in Spanish. This region has been hailed as the “Coffee Cultural Landscape” of the country and was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.
2. Vietnam
537,000 Metric Tons
Coffee is the second most valuable crop in Vietnam, next to rice – the country’s staple food. Vietnam’s After recovering from the economic turmoil and export cessation brought by the Vietnam War, the export industry continued to soar and rose to the second ranks in the list of the countries that export the most coffee in the world.
1. Brazil
946,680 Metric Tons
Brazil is not just a country that produces the most coffee in the world, but it is also the world’s biggest exporter of coffee with exports amounting to about a third of all of the coffee exports. More than 10,000 square miles of the South American country is dedicated to coffee.
