TRADE WITH ORIGIN.
DELIVER WITH INTEGRITY.
Brown Trading is an independent commodity house for coffee, cocoa, grains, spices & sustainable timber. We connect 12,000+ farmers and cooperatives directly to roasters, manufacturers and retailers — with full traceability, fair pricing and bullet-proof logistics.
A family trading house,
built on brown earth.
Founded in 1989 by Elias Brown in Rotterdam, Brown Trading began with one bag of Kenyan AA coffee and a promise: pay farmers first, cut middlemen, never compromise on quality. Today we move 128,000 tonnes a year — but still cup every lot ourselves.
Why buyers stay with us for 12+ years on average
We own the chain: agronomists on the ground, drying stations, labs, bonded warehouses in Rotterdam, Houston and Jebel Ali, and our own chartering desk. No surprises. No broken contracts. Just delivery.
- ✓Farm-gate transparency. Every contract shows farmer price, cooperative premium and logistics cost. Audited yearly.
- ✓Quality labs in 6 origins. 24h cupping, moisture, aflatoxin and pesticide screening before shipment.
- ✓Risk cover included. Price hedging, FX and marine insurance structured by our in-house desk.
- ✓ESG verified. Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, Organic and EUDR-ready deforestation mapping.
From soil to vessel, we handle everything
Six integrated desks under one roof. You sign one contract — we deliver FOB, CFR or DDP, cleared and certified.
Origin Sourcing & Agronomy
Direct buying from 12,400 farms, pre-financing, seedlings, soil labs and yield programs in Colombia, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Ghana and Brazil.
Quality & Certification
Q-graders, cocoa cut-tests, grain grading, mycotoxin control, organic and Fairtrade certification, EUDR polygons and full lot traceability.
Logistics & Chartering
Weekly consolidations, 40 bulk and container corridors, cold-chain for cocoa butter, bonded storage and last-mile delivery in EU, US and GCC.
Price Risk & Hedging
Futures on ICE, CBOT and LME, options, fixed-price programs for roasters up to 24 months, FX netting and contract insurance.
Private Label & Processing
Cleaning, sorting, roasting profiles, cocoa liquor pressing, spice sterilization and retail-ready packing in Rotterdam and Dubai.
Sustainability & Impact
Carbon-insetting, water projects, living-income premiums, satellite deforestation monitoring and CSRD-ready impact reporting.
What we trade
Five core verticals, 48 grades, always in stock in Rotterdam. Click through to our news desk for weekly price notes.
Arabica & Robusta • washed, honey, natural • 84+ microlots from Huila, Yirgacheffe, Dak Lak
West Africa & Ecuador • fermented, traceable • butter, liquor, nibs, organic
Wheat, corn, soy, sesame • EU feed & food grade • GMO-free programs
Pepper, cardamom, turmeric, cashew, shea • steam-sterilized, lab-tested
128,400 tonnes delivered last year. 98.7% on-time.
We publish our delivery record every quarter. No cherry-picking. If a vessel is late, you know before we do — with a recovery plan attached.
Request price listOne contract. Zero headaches.
Brief & Samples
Tell us roast profile, volumes, Incoterms. Free 500g samples in 72h from Rotterdam stock.
Origin Match
We lock farm, grade and price. You get photos, lab report and farmer premium breakdown.
Hedge & Ship
We hedge futures, book vessel, stuff container on camera. Live GPS + docs in client portal.
Deliver & Support
Customs cleared, QC on arrival, 30-day quality claim window and re-order planning.
Brown earth must stay green
EUDR-ready since 2023. Every bag mapped to polygon, every premium paid to farmer — verified by third party.
Roasters, millers & retailers trust Brown
“Brown replaced four intermediaries for us. Same Huila lot, 11% cheaper, and we finally know the farmers’ names.”
Jonas LindqvistHead Buyer, Nordic Roast Co. — Sweden“During the 2024 cocoa crisis they honored our fixed price while others defaulted. That’s why we doubled volumes.”
Amara DialloDirector, Choco Atlantique — France“Their EUDR dossier cleared Rotterdam customs in 6 hours. Our previous broker needed 6 days.”
Michael TorresSupply Chain VP, Gulf Foods — UAETrading desk news & notes
Weekly prices, harvest reports, logistics alerts and EUDR explainers. Written by traders, not copywriters.
Get a price in 24 hours
Send volumes, target price and delivery terms. A real trader replies — no bots, no spam.
Rotterdam • Santos • Mombasa • Dubai
Head office: Wilhelminakade 88, 3072 AP Rotterdam. Lab & warehouse: Maasvlakte 12. Open Mon–Fri 08:00–18:00 CET.