I. Current State and Market Opportunities of Japanese Green-Bean Import Trade

In recent years, China’s coffee market has kept expanding: in 2023, green-bean imports topped 200,000 t. Japanese beans—branded “specialty” and “region-specific” (e.g., Blue Mountain-style blends, volcanic-soil lots)—now claim 8 % of the specialty segment. With the RCEP in force, their import tariff has fallen from the MFN 8 % to the agreed 7.2 % (2024), reinforcing domestic premium-demand tailwinds.Import Agent ServicesThe business is entering a golden window of opportunity.

Note that the current international trade environment is complex: Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries has tightened traceability management for exported agricultural products, requiring coffee-bean exporters to provide a “Production Record Certificate”; China Customs applies a dual-control mechanism of “100 % sampling inspection + 20 % on-site examination” for imported food, imposing stricter requirements on document integrity and cargo consistency. Choosing a professional agency service provider has become the key for companies to reduce compliance risks and speed up customs clearance.

II. Core Services of Agency Import: The Professional Barrier of Document Processing and Logistics Management

(I) Document Processing: The “pass” for full-process compliance

Importing coffee beans into Japan requires 12 categories of core documents; the professional competence of the brokerage service provider directly affects customs-clearance speed and cost:

• Basic commercial documents: Commercial invoice (must itemize FOB price, freight, and insurance), packing list (specify bean variety, weight, and batch number for each carton), bill of lading (a direct carrier’s B/L is recommended to avoid disputes caused by house B/Ls);
• Official Certified Documents: Phytosanitary Certificate issued by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (must state “free from quarantine pests such as the coffee berry borer”),Origin Certificate(Under RCEP, FORM E can be applied for to enjoy tariff preferences), health certificate (certifying compliance with China’s GB 31656-2021 “National Food Safety Standard – Determination of Organotin Compounds in Aquatic Products” and other standards);
• Special additional documents: For coffee beans involving organic certification, a copy of Japan’s JAS organic certificate must be provided (for reference only; we do not handle the application). For roasted beans, please additionally submit a “Component Analysis Report” covering caffeine content, water activity, and other indicators.

Zhong Shen International Trade Co., Ltd.The team is staffed with documentation specialists who each have over five years of experience and can perform three critical tasks: ① pre-review the logical consistency of documents (e.g., ensuring the discrepancy between the bill-of-lading weight and the packing list is ≤0.5%); ② assist in translating official Japanese documents to guarantee zero ambiguity during customs inspection; ③ establish a three-way verification mechanism among “documents–cargo–system” to prevent supplementary-tax risks caused by incorrect HS-code classification (such as mixing up green beans 09012100 and roasted beans 09012200).

(II) Logistics Management: End-to-End Optimization from Port to Warehouse

Japan's coffee-bean imports are based onMaritime transportAccount for the vast majority (85%); the agency service provider must precisely control four logistics nodes:

• Port of Origin Operations: Prioritize major export ports such as Kobe and Osaka, and coordinate with shipping lines to reserve reefer container space (green beans require constant-temperature transport at 4–8 °C); for urgent shipments, Narita Airport can be arranged.Air freight(Lead time 3–5 days, cost roughly triple that of sea freight);
• In-transit monitoring: Real-time temperature and humidity tracking of containers via IoT devices (green-bean moisture content must be ≤12%); abnormal data triggers an alert, and an emergency response (e.g., adjusting vent opening) is provided within one hour;
• Customs Clearance at the Port of Destination: Submit the "Single Window" pre-declaration to customs 3 days in advance, complete importer registration and customs broker appointment in parallel; ordinary cargo can be released "upon vessel arrival" (if no inspection is required);
• Domestic distribution: Establishes long-term partnerships with JD Logistics, Sinotrans, and others to provide a three-tier distribution solution of “port–regional distribution center–end store,” and supports warehouse-receipt pledge financing (easing customers’ capital pressure).

III. Trade Compliance and Handling of Special Scenarios: VTB Operations Involving RussiaConvert foreign exchange into RMBAdvantages

When it comes to RussiaRe-export Services(when Japanese coffee beans are transshipped via Russia’s Far Eastern ports), the foreign-exchange settlement stage is easily affected by SWIFT restrictions. Zhongshen International Trade and Russiaforeign tradeBank (VTB) has set up a dedicated cooperation channel that offers two major advantages in foreign-exchange settlement:

• Multi-currency settlement: Supports settlement in both RMB and ruble, hedging against USD exchange-rate volatility (the share of RMB settlement rose to 60% in 2023);
• Fast crediting: Via VTB Bank’s “CIPS Direct-Connect Channel for China-Russia Cross-Border Payments,” settlement time is shortened to T+1 (versus T+3 via the traditional route), reducing capital-occupation costs.

Special note: For Russia-related transactions, an additional “Re-export Trade Certificate” must be submitted, and the “Trade Mode” field on the customs declaration must be marked “1210 Bonded Re-export.” The appointed service provider may assist in reviewing document compliance but will not participate in foreign-exchange verification.

IV. Client Notice: Certification Matters and Service Boundaries

Importing coffee beans into Japan may involve the following certification requirements (the agent does not provide application services):

• Import Quarantine Approval for Animals and Plants (AQSIQ): Import enterprises must apply for the “People’s Republic of China Entry Animal and Plant Quarantine Permit” through the “Internet + Customs” platform 30 days in advance;
• Registration of Food Importers: Enterprises must register with the General Administration of Customs of China for imported food.CosmeticsRegister in the “Importer Filing System” (the filing number must be entered in the “Domestic Consignee/Consignor” field of the customs declaration);
• Voluntary certification: If the customer requests Kosher or Rainforest Alliance certification, they must contact the certification body themselves to obtain the certificate; the agent may assist in verifying the certificate’s validity.

V. Full-Process Agency Services: Closed-Loop Management from Consultation to Feedback

Zhongshen International Trade’s import agency service for Japanese coffee beans strictly follows a 9-step standardized process:

1. Client Consultation: Collect key information such as bean type (Arabica/Robusta), quantity (500 kg–20,000 kg), and delivery time (door-to-door 30 days / expedited 15 days) through the “Requirement Survey Form”;
2. Negotiation and Contract Signing: Clarify the scope of services (whether warehousing is included), the fee structure (agency fee charged at 1.5%–2% of the cargo value), and risk allocation (demurrage caused by incorrect documentation shall be borne by the agent);
3. Orders & Payment: Assist in reviewing the purchase contract (focus on verifying the "quality clause": green-bean defect rate ≤3%, roasted-bean scorched beans ≤1%), provide T/T (30% deposit + 70% on arrival),?L/C?(payment by L/C at sight);
4. Production supervision: If requested by the customer, a local Japanese inspection body (e.g., JQA) may be commissioned to conduct a pre-shipment inspection (PSI) of the coffee beans’ moisture content and impurity level and issue an Inspection Report;
5. Logistics Management: As detailed earlier, it is reiterated here that the “pre-entry of manifest” and the fast-track lane for “Customs AEO-certified enterprises” reduce the inspection rate to below 3%;
6. Customs Compliance: Calculate the comprehensive tax rate (7.2% customs duty + 9% VAT), and assist in applying for a “customs duty guarantee” (applicable to customers with monthly imports exceeding 50 tons, allowing a 30-day tax deferral);
7. Delivery and Distribution: Supports "Direct Port Pickup" (customer self-pickup) or "Third-Party Warehouse Fulfillment" (offers 7-day free storage period);
8. Quality Assurance: Assist the client in completing customs sampling inspection (test items: 20 pesticide residues, aflatoxin B1 ≤5 μg/kg); if the results are non-compliant, we can act on their behalf to initiate return or destruction procedures;
9. Summary Feedback: Provide the "Import Business Analysis Report" (including logistics timeliness, cost structure, and statistics on documentation issues) and establish a customer service file (to facilitate quota applications for the following year).

Conclusion: Professional agents are the “invisible engine” behind specialty-coffee imports

Importing Japanese coffee beans is more than the cross-border movement of goods; it is a comprehensive test of trade rules, logistics networks, and compliance capabilities. With 20 years of experience as a foreign-trade agent, Zhongshen International Trade has become a reliable partner for companies expanding into Japan’s specialty-coffee market, delivering a 99.8 % error-free documentation rate, an average customs-clearance time cut by two days, and logistics costs reduced by 8 %–12 %. Choosing a professional agent turns a complex import process back into something simple, letting companies focus on product operations and market development.