This isn’t certified legal or customs advice — it’s a plain-language starting point. Before you build a sourcing plan around any of this, confirm the current requirements with a real customs broker or trade attorney in your market. Rules change, and the version below reflects what’s publicly documented as of this writing.

United States

Green coffee entering the US requires Prior Notice to the FDA before the shipment arrives, filed through the FDA/CBP ABI-ACE system. Importers also fall under FSVP (Foreign Supplier Verification Program) requirements. Coffee is graded 1 through 9 on quality; grade 8 and below generally isn’t eligible for import. Labeling has to be in English, and shipments valued over $2,500 typically require a customs bond.

Canada

Canada requires an SFCR license (Safe Food for Canadians Regulations), which usually takes 4-8 weeks to obtain — with one real exception worth knowing about: green coffee labeled “For Further Preparation Only” may qualify for an exemption, because it’s treated as an unprocessed raw material rather than a finished food product. A phytosanitary certificate from the country of origin is also required, and as of October 2024, registration in Canada’s CARM portal is mandatory for commercial importers.

United Kingdom

Green coffee (unroasted, non-decaf, HS code 0901) enters the UK duty-free. The catch is on the plant-health side: a phytosanitary certificate is required on every shipment, with no confirmed exemption for small quantities — unlike roasted coffee, which does have a small-quantity exemption. Every shipment also needs pre-notification through the IPAFFS system before it arrives. This is real friction for a small-bag, direct-to-consumer model, and it’s worth factoring into delivery timelines.

United Arab Emirates

Green coffee enters duty-free, with a 5% VAT on the declared value. For courier shipments, there’s a de minimis threshold of roughly AED 300 (~$82) below which import duty doesn’t apply — a 500g-1kg bag of green coffee will often fall under that threshold, which is a real advantage for individual buyers. Commercial (B2B) importing is a different story: it requires a local business license, registration with MOIAT, and a Dubai Customs code — not something a foreign business can do without a local presence.

The One Thing True Across All Four Markets

None of these requirements are about the quality of the coffee. They’re about paperwork, timing, and who’s responsible for verifying what crossed the border. Budget the time and the phytosanitary certificate cost into your plan before you commit to a shipping date — not after.