Indonesian Coffee Shipping and Export Documents

Moving green coffee from Indonesia to a buyer abroad runs on a set of documents and a fairly standard physical path. None of it is exotic, but the paperwork has to be complete and it has to match the cargo, because a missing or inconsistent document is what holds a container at the port. This page explains the standard export document set and the export path in general terms, so you know what should arrive with your coffee and why each piece exists.

The export document set

A green coffee shipment from Indonesia is accompanied by a recognised set of documents. The common ones are these.

The commercial invoice records the commercial terms between buyer and seller: what was sold, in what quantity, at what price. The packing list describes the physical shipment, the number of bags, weights, and how the cargo is made up. The certificate of origin states where the coffee was grown, and for coffee there is also the ICO Certificate of Origin, issued under the International Coffee Organization framework, which is the anchor origin document for green coffee leaving Indonesia. The phytosanitary certificate, issued by the Indonesian agricultural quarantine authority, certifies that the coffee is free of quarantine pests and has been inspected; importing countries require it. The bill of lading is the contract of carriage and the receipt for the goods from the shipping line, and it is the document against which the cargo moves and title can pass. A certificate of analysis or quality, along with weight and quality certificates, records the grade, screen, moisture, and cup or defect results for the lot, so the buyer can confirm what was contracted is what shipped.

For coffee bound for the European Union, the Due Diligence Statement reference under EUDR now travels with the consignment as well. That reference number is generated when the operator files the statement and is presented at customs. The full mechanics are on the EUDR page.

Good practice on the buyer side is to cross check these against each other, the ICO Certificate of Origin against the bill of lading, packing list, commercial invoice, and phytosanitary certificate, so the names, weights, and container numbers agree across the set.

How the coffee ships

The physical path is fairly standard. Green coffee is usually packed in jute bags, very often with a sealed plastic liner of the GrainPro type inside, which protects the coffee from moisture and helps preserve freshness in transit. Bags are commonly 60 kilograms, though other standard weights are used. The bags are loaded into shipping containers, either palletised or stuffed in bulk depending on the lot and the buyer’s preference.

Coffee leaves Indonesia through its main ports, including Tanjung Priok serving the Jakarta area and Java, and Belawan serving North Sumatra, among others. Before the container ships, an independent inspector typically carries out a pre shipment inspection, sampling and checking the cargo against the contract, which gives the buyer assurance that quantity and quality are as agreed.

Incoterms: FOB and CIF

Incoterms are the standard international rules that set out where the seller’s responsibility ends and the buyer’s begins. Two are common in green coffee.

Under FOB, free on board, the seller delivers the coffee loaded onto the vessel at the export port, and from that point the buyer carries the cost and risk of ocean freight, insurance, and onward movement. Under CIF, cost, insurance and freight, the seller arranges and pays for ocean freight and insurance to the destination port, with risk passing to the buyer once the goods are on board. The practical difference is who books and pays for the sea freight and marine insurance, and where risk transfers. Which one suits you depends on how much of the shipping you want to control yourself.

How IndoCasa fits

Our role is straightforward to describe. We assemble the full document set and manage the shipment, so the paperwork is complete, consistent, and matches the cargo that arrives. You get a clean, reconciled document pack with your coffee. The sourcing and the operational setup behind it stay with us.

If you want to walk through the document set for a specific contract or incoterm, we can do that. Contact Us to start.

Related: EUDR, Grades, Coffee overview.