Yunnan, China’s coffee capital, grinds out exports to meet global demand

Long known as China’s coffee capital, the southwestern province of Yunnan is moving higher up the global value chain as rising international prices and overseas demand fuel an export boom.

The value of outbound shipments of coffee and derivative products from Yunnan hit 7.7 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) in the first eight months of 2025, the highest of any region, with beans shipped to more than 30 countries including Germany and Vietnam.

Overseas orders are also driving industrial reforms, with factories upgrading their equipment and technology to meet changing consumer needs.

With 1.2 million mu (197,684 acres) of land for cultivation, Yunnan produces nearly all of China’s coffee. In recent years, reduced harvests in major producers such as Brazil have sent international coffee futures skyrocketing.

Benchmark coffee futures reached a 50-year high this year, pushing Yunnan’s raw bean prices from 40 yuan (US$5.6) per kilogram late last year to as high as 66 yuan in May – a windfall that has lifted both volumes and margins for local growers.

Yunnan exported 32,500 tons of coffee in 2024, up 358 per cent year-on-year, according to the customs office in the provincial capital of Kunming.