Most people planning their first shipment from Indonesia to South Korea worry about the tariff. It’s the wrong thing to worry about. For Indonesian green coffee, the import duty into Korea is effectively 0%, thanks to the Indonesia-Korea trade agreement. The numbers that actually decide your landed cost and whether your container clears the port are the ones nobody puts in the subject line: VAT timing, the food-safety inspection, and whether you bought FOB or CIF.
So here is the honest version, from the Medan side of the deal. This guide covers what you really pay to import green coffee to South Korea from Indonesia, how FOB and CIF change your risk and your invoice, and how small a first order can actually be.
Last updated: July 2026
Do You Pay a Tariff on Indonesian Green Coffee?
For green coffee from Indonesia, the tariff into South Korea is effectively zero. Korea’s standard duty on unroasted coffee (HS code 0901.11) is low to begin with, roughly 2% on a most-favored-nation basis, and under the Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IK-CEPA, in force since 1 January 2023), Indonesian-origin green coffee lands at 0% when the paperwork is right.
That last clause matters more than the rate. The 0% is not automatic. It is a preferential rate you have to claim, and you claim it with a Certificate of Origin. For an Indonesian shipment, you’ll be working with either the IK-CEPA form or the ASEAN-Korea (AKFTA) Form AK, issued in Indonesia against the actual origin of the beans. No valid certificate at the time of clearance, and Korean customs charges the base rate instead. You can sometimes reclaim it afterward, but now you’re chasing a refund instead of pouring coffee.
Here’s the part exporters see all the time: buyers assume “free trade agreement” means “no forms.” It means the opposite. It means one specific form, filled correctly, matching the invoice and the bill of lading line for line. By contrast, get a country of origin wrong or blend in beans from another origin without declaring it, and the whole preferential claim can fall over.
In short: budget the tariff at 0%, but treat the Certificate of Origin as the thing that earns you that zero.
The VAT Question (This One Is Bigger Than the Tariff)
South Korea normally charges 10% VAT on imported goods, coffee included, and 10% of a green coffee shipment is a real number, far bigger than any duty. The good news for 2026: Korea has kept its temporary VAT exemption on imported green coffee and cacao beans, now extended through 31 December 2027. So on paper, right now, your green beans come in with no duty and no VAT.
Do not build your business on that exemption lasting forever. It is a temporary measure the Korean government renews to hold down consumer prices, and it has an expiry date printed on it.
Because it can lapse, run your numbers both ways. Model your landed cost with VAT at 0% and again at 10%. If the deal only works while the exemption holds, it isn’t a deal, it’s a window. Roasters who plan for the 10% and get the 0% are the ones who sleep at night.
FOB vs CIF: What You’re Actually Buying
FOB and CIF are the two price formats you’ll be quoted, and the difference is simply how much of the journey is baked into the number. FOB (Free On Board) covers the coffee loaded onto the ship at the Indonesian port, and nothing after. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) adds the ocean freight and marine insurance to the destination port. Same coffee, two very different invoices.
Indonesian green coffee usually ships FOB Belawan, the main port for North Sumatra, near Medan. A CIF quote would be to your arrival port, typically Busan or Incheon. Here is what each price actually includes:
| Cost / Risk | FOB Belawan | CIF Busan / Incheon |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, bagged, at origin port | Included | Included |
| Export clearance in Indonesia | Included | Included |
| Loading onto the vessel | Included | Included |
| Ocean freight to Korea | You arrange & pay | Included |
| Marine insurance | You arrange & pay | Included |
| Risk transfers to you | At the origin port rail | At the origin port rail* |
| Korean import clearance, duty, VAT | You | You |
| Inland trucking to your roastery | You | You |
*A quiet detail people miss: even under CIF, the risk technically passes to you once the coffee is loaded in Indonesia. The seller pays for the freight and insurance, but if something happens mid-ocean, it’s your insurance claim to file, not theirs.
So which do you pick? If you already have a freight forwarder you trust and want to control routing and cost, take FOB and arrange the rest yourself. If this is early days and you’d rather have one number and one counterparty handling the sea leg, take CIF and let the exporter book it. A FOB price will always look cheaper than a CIF price for the same lot. It should. It’s an unfinished number.
The Real Gatekeeper: MFDS Food Inspection
The thing most likely to hold your coffee at the port is not customs, it’s the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS). Every food import into Korea, green coffee included, goes through imported-food inspection, and your first shipment of a given product gets the closest look.
MFDS runs four inspection types: document review, on-site sensory inspection, laboratory testing, and random sampling. A first-time product, from a first-time overseas facility, commonly draws the laboratory test, the slowest and strictest of the four. Once a product passes that lab test, later shipments of the same product from the same facility are generally exempt from repeat lab testing for a period (historically around five years), and move on the faster document or sensory track. So the first container is the hard one; the tenth is routine.
Two things need to be in place before that inspection, and both take lead time:
- Overseas facility registration. Korea requires the exporting facility to be pre-registered with MFDS before it can ship food to the country. Your Indonesian supplier handles this from their end, but confirm it exists before you order.
- Korean-language labeling. Every imported food product needs a compliant Korean label. Stickers are allowed, but they can’t be easily removed and can’t cover the original label.
By contrast to the tariff, which is a fixed near-zero, the inspection is where time and money quietly leak: demurrage while a lab result comes back, a rejected label, a facility that was never registered. Ask your supplier for their MFDS facility registration and their record of prior Korea shipments before you wire a deposit. A supplier who has cleared Korean ports before is worth a slightly higher FOB price.
MOQ: How Small Can a First Order Be?
You do not need a full container to start. A serious Indonesian exporter will sell you a 1 kg cupping sample so you can score the coffee before committing, then scale up through a 60 kg microlot, a 350 kg wholesale order, and a full container of 9 metric tons or more for volume buyers. The ladder exists so you can taste, roast, and test-clear a small lot before you bet on a big one.
Here’s the practical wrinkle that connects MOQ back to the MFDS section above: your first commercial shipment triggers the first lab test. So there’s a real argument for making that first paid order small but real, a 60 kg microlot rather than a container, so you get through the slow inspection on a low-risk quantity. Once that product and facility are cleared, you scale into containers on the faster track.
Sample first, microlot to clear the paperwork, then container for the actual business. That sequence costs a little more per kilo early on and saves you from parking a 9-ton mistake at Busan.
The Honest Trade-Off Nobody Mentions
Two uncomfortable truths, stated plainly.
First, FOB is not actually cheaper, it just looks cheaper. The FOB invoice is a real price for an unfinished journey. Add freight, insurance, Korean clearance, and inland trucking, and a “cheap” FOB lot can land at more than a CIF quote you dismissed, especially on a small order where you have no freight-volume leverage. Compare landed cost per kilo, not headline price. Anyone comparing FOB against CIF as if they were the same number is going to be surprised at the destination.
Second, your 0% tariff and 0% VAT are both borrowed, not owned. The zero duty depends on a valid Certificate of Origin at clearance. The zero VAT depends on a temporary exemption with a 2027 expiry. Both are real today. Neither is guaranteed for the life of a supply contract. Build your margins on the assumption that one day you pay the 10% VAT, and treat every shipment’s origin paperwork as non-negotiable.
That’s the whole game. The tariff is easy. The paperwork and the logistics are where importers win or lose.
What This Means for You
If you’re a roaster buying your first Indonesian lot: start with a sample, then a 60 kg microlot on CIF terms so one counterparty handles the sea leg while you learn. Confirm the exporter’s MFDS facility registration up front. Model your cost with VAT at both 0% and 10%.
If you’re an importer or trader moving volume: take FOB Belawan, run your own forwarder, and hold the Certificate of Origin discipline tight, because at container scale a mis-claimed origin is an expensive mistake. Your edge is landed-cost control, not the tariff line, which is zero for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is the import tariff on green coffee from Indonesia to South Korea?
Effectively 0%. Korea’s standard duty on unroasted coffee (HS 0901.11) is low, around 2% MFN, and Indonesian-origin green coffee qualifies for a 0% preferential rate under the IK-CEPA trade agreement, provided you present a valid Certificate of Origin at customs clearance.
Do I pay VAT when importing green coffee into South Korea?
Normally Korea charges 10% VAT on imports, but green coffee and cacao beans currently benefit from a temporary VAT exemption that Korea has extended through 31 December 2027. Confirm the exemption is still active on your clearance date, and budget for 10% in case it lapses.
What is the difference between FOB and CIF for coffee?
FOB (Free On Board) prices the coffee loaded onto the ship at the Indonesian port; you arrange and pay ocean freight and insurance. CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight) includes freight and insurance to your destination port. Same coffee, but CIF covers more of the journey, so it quotes higher than FOB.
What is the minimum order quantity for Indonesian green coffee?
It ranges from a 1 kg cupping sample up to a full container of 9 metric tons or more. A common path is a 1 kg sample, then a 60 kg microlot, then a 350 kg wholesale order, then containers. Starting small lets you clear the first Korean food inspection on a low-risk quantity.
What documents do I need to import coffee into South Korea?
You need a commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading, and a Certificate of Origin (IK-CEPA or AKFTA Form AK) to claim the 0% tariff. Your shipment also passes MFDS imported-food inspection, and the exporting facility must be registered with MFDS beforehand.
Why does my first coffee shipment take longer to clear Korean customs?
A first-time product from a first-time facility usually draws MFDS laboratory testing, the strictest inspection type. Once that lot passes, later shipments of the same product from the same facility generally skip repeat lab testing for several years and clear on the faster document or sensory track.
Getting Indonesian Green Coffee to Your Roastery
Whatever supplier you use, ask for three things before you commit to a pallet, let alone a container: their MFDS overseas-facility registration, a current-crop cupping sample, and a clear FOB and CIF quote so you can compare landed cost honestly. If you want to start with Gayo or another Sumatran lot, Indonesia Specialty Coffee ships 1 kg cupping samples FOB Belawan and can quote CIF to Busan or Incheon: request a sample or see the current wholesale pricelist.
