Import Coffee from India to Jordan

A Jordanian commercial importer needs a valid importer card issued by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, covering foodstuffs. Beyond that, the product must meet the applicable Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization standard, carry a compliant Arabic label, and clear through Jordan Customs. There is no import licence specific to coffee, but the standards compliance is where entries actually fail.

Both, with different roles. The Jordan Standards and Metrology Organization develops the technical standards and sets the labelling and marking requirements. The Jordan Food and Drug Administration enforces them, inspecting and testing imported food and holding authority to sample at wholesale and retail level as well as at the border. If you need to know what the requirement is, ask JSMO. If you are dealing with an inspection or a hold, that is JFDA.

Jordanian authorities have very low tolerance for food standards violations. A consignment that does not meet the official standard is rejected, and the product is either re-exported or destroyed at the importer's expense. There is no expectation that a failed lot will be reworked in place. This is why buying the applicable JSMO standard before contracting, and getting written confirmation from your supplier that the lot meets it, is worth far more on this route than on markets where a shipment can be corrected at destination.

Labels must be in Arabic or carry an Arabic adhesive label. In general the label should show the product name, the manufacturer's name and address, net weight, lot number and best before date. Jordan differs from the Gulf standards in one detail that catches exporters out: a statement of ingredients in descending order of predominance is not required. Shelf life uses the best before standard, and JSMO treats best before as the expiry date. Ambiguous label content is itself grounds for rejecting a shipment.

Not necessarily. Aqaba is Jordan's only seaport and the Kingdom's entire coastline sits inside the Aqaba Special Economic Zone, a duty free low tax zone administered by the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. Goods held inside the zone can be exempt from customs duty and general sales tax subject to the zone's requirements. Duty and tax attach when goods move from the zone into Jordan's customs territory, where the standard regime and rules of origin apply. Decide which route you are taking before booking, because it changes both the paperwork and the cash flow.

We do not publish a transit figure for this route. Aqaba sits at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea, direct sailings from Indian ports are limited so cargo is commonly transshipped, and Red Sea routing conditions have been variable. Any number printed here would go stale faster than it would help. Ask your freight forwarder for a current transit and service string, and tell us what you are given so we can pack the lot for the actual voyage rather than an assumed one.

Robusta Cherry AA is the usual starting point, since sun drying with the fruit intact gives a full bodied, earthy cup with pronounced sweetness and strong crema that sits naturally in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean coffee traditions. Robusta Kaapi Royale, the washed Parchment A grade, is the alternative where a cleaner cup is wanted without losing weight. Arabica Cherry AA adds sweetness and body to a blend. Ask for a sample set across all three and cup them against what you currently buy.

Plain green and roasted coffee is a single ingredient agricultural product, but Halal certification is frequently requested by buyers in the region and becomes materially more relevant for flavoured, blended or additive containing lines where every ingredient must be accounted for. Certification is held by the producing and processing facility within our supplier network rather than by Alstoe, and we supply the certificate with the shipment where your buyer or your registration requires it.

Standard MOQ for green coffee is one 20 foot FCL container, approximately 18 to 20 MT loaded as around 300 jute bags of 60 kg each. Roasted coffee is 200 kg per roast profile and instant coffee is 500 kg per profile. LCL shipments can be discussed for trial orders and specialty single origin lots, which on this route is often the sensible way to test both the coffee and the clearance process first.

Coffee contracts are on advance payment against proforma invoice. A 500 g sample is dispatched free within 48 hours and cup scores are locked in writing before the order is confirmed, so you approve the lot before any payment is discussed.