Fez — Morocco has opened the African Coffee Hub inside the Tanger Med port complex, positioning the Kingdom as a primary gateway for African coffee exports to Europe, the United States, and Asia.
The new platform aggregates directly sourced beans from farmers across the continent, performs quality control and pre-export preparation in Morocco, and finally ships from Tanger Med – one of the world’s most connected ports.
The goal is to shorten transit times, lower costs, and keep more value within Africa by reducing reliance on long, intermediary-heavy supply chains.
A new model for African coffee trade
Backers say the hub introduces a streamlined model for the trade. Instead of fragmented routes that pass through multiple brokers, producers will sell through a centralized platform that guarantees traceability “from farm to cup.”
Lots will be graded, sorted, and documented in Tangier, with digital tracking that records origin, post-harvest handling, and transport conditions. For international buyers, that visibility meets rising demand for provenance data and consistent quality; for smallholders, it creates a path to fairer, more stable prices.
The initiative aims to leverage the strong global reputation of African origins, notably Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, and Tanzania. By routing consolidated volumes through Tanger Med’s dense network of maritime links, the hub seeks to become the preferred source of African coffee for roasters across Europe and North America.
Faster turnarounds and predictable schedules should help buyers plan inventory with fewer risks, while giving producers clearer specifications and timetables that improve bargaining power.
Economic impact and fairer value sharing
Economic impact is central to the plan. The hub is expected to create skilled jobs in logistics, quality assurance, and supply-chain management, while building local capabilities in grading, blending, and pre-export services.
Training and technical assistance will target on-farm practices and post-harvest steps that raise yields and cup profiles, expanding access to premium markets. “We want African coffee to reach the world without intermediaries, while guaranteeing quality, traceability, and economic fairness for producers,” said CEO Sanae Ben Abdelkhaleq, calling Tanger Med “the ideal environment to lead this major shift.”
In the coming weeks, the African Coffee Hub plans to announce its first supply agreements with exporting countries, along with an operating calendar and logistics and industrial partnerships, ahead of a formal inauguration at Tanger Med. The message behind the new platform is simple: from African farms to global cups, Morocco now offers a shorter, clearer, and more equitable route.
