Type: commissioned web research, not a primary source. Produced by a scoped research subagent on 2026-08-18 for the coffee Minimum Viable Context (MVC), on request of Tell Münzing. Recovered verbatim from the session transcript. Every factual line carries the URL the subagent used; the closing “Unverified” section is the subagent’s own account of what it could not confirm. Research-grade — verify key figures against primary documents before external use.
Coffee Value Chain: Data Holders by Stage, and EUDR Impact
1. Smallholder farm
Actors: ~12.5 million farms globally, mostly <2 ha (general industry consensus, no single source found with a precise global count this session). Holds: Plot boundaries/land tenure (often informal), planting density, variety, input use (fertilizer/agrochemicals), harvest volume, cherry-picking dates — largely undigitized, on paper or memory. Missing/can’t verify: Downstream roast profile, final blend composition, retail price, end-buyer identity, its own coffee’s ultimate certification premium capture. Value: Farmers capture roughly 3–10% of final retail price; a German-market margin study found farmers get ~€0.41/kg vs. €1.39/kg retail margin and €0.89/kg roaster margin (https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz; https://hrnews1.substack.com/p/only-25-of-the-price-of-coffee-actually).
2. Producer organisation / cooperative
Actors: Co-ops, unions of co-ops, NGO-run farmer groups (e.g. TechnoServe-supported). Holds: Aggregated member lists, sometimes plot GPS points collected for certification, cherry delivery records, prices paid per farmer, occasionally consolidated volume/quality data (https://dailycoffeenews.com/2022/05/02/technoserve-publishes-authoritative-guide-on-wet-mill-coffee-processing/). Missing: Verified deforestation-risk status of every member plot; harmonized digital records (many still paper-based); farm-level input/emissions data. Value: Sits close to farmgate share; margin capture varies by co-op governance and access to direct-trade premiums (no consolidated figure found).
3. Washing station / wet mill
Actors: Estate-owned or co-op-owned wet mills; independent “micro mills.” Holds: Cherry intake records (farmer, weight, date), processing method, fermentation time, water source, moisture readings, lot traceability sheets — described as “the most critical traceability node” because it’s the first point of aggregation across farmers (https://podiumcoffeeclub.com/blogs/blog/coffee-traceability; https://beanofcoffee.com/why-is-traceability-back-to-the-coffee-farm-level-a-competitive-advantage/). Missing: True per-plot geolocation unless specifically collected; at larger facilities cherries from multiple co-ops/farmers are commonly commingled, destroying individual-lot traceability (same source). Value: No specific figure found; captured within co-op/exporter margin.
4. Dry mill / exporter
Actors: National exporters, larger trading-group-owned mills. Holds: Parchment/dry-mill reports, cupping/quality grading, export lot identity, HS-code documentation, sometimes buyer contracts and FOB prices. Missing: Verified farm-level deforestation compliance data unless separately sourced; roaster’s downstream blend/roast use. Value: German study cites exporter margin ~€0.29/kg (https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz).
5. International trader
Actors — dominant firms: Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (self-described world’s largest green coffee service group, export mills/warehouses/quality labs in 27+ countries), Volcafe (ED&F Man), Olam Agri, ECOM Agroindustrial, Louis Dreyfus Company Coffee, Sucafina (https://tracextech.com/top-10-global-coffee-exporters/). No source found this session with precise global market-share percentages for these traders — flagged as unverified below. Holds: Consolidated multi-origin volumes, quality labs, price hedging positions, and increasingly proprietary traceability/sustainability data via platforms (Sucafina’s IMPACT/“responsibly sourced” program with 11 mandatory + 71 improvement indicators; blockchain pilot with Farmer Connect on IBM Food Trust) (https://group.sucafina.com/impact/; https://group.sucafina.com/news/sucafina-and-farmer-connect-sa-announce-blockchain-collaboration-improve-traceability-global-coffee-supply-chain/). Missing: Full independent verification of plot-level deforestation status without third-party certifiers/satellite tools. Value: German study: trader margin ~€0.26/kg, lowest of any stage measured (https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz).
6. Roaster
Actors — dominant firms: Nestlé (Nescafé/Nespresso) holds >20% of global packaged coffee, coffee business ~$25–27bn/yr; JDE Peet’s + Keurig Dr Pepper together ~19% of global packaged coffee sales; Starbucks dominant in specialty/retail; Lavazza and Strauss Group leading in Europe. Top five roasters estimated at 55–60% of global roasted/soluble volume (https://www.expertmarketresearch.com/blogs/top-coffee-companies; https://www.coffeeness.de/en/biggest-coffee-companies/). Holds: Blend formulation, roast profiles, brand-level sustainability claims, purchase contracts/prices paid to traders, sometimes chain-of-custody or mass-balance certification records (Rainforest Alliance RACP/MultiTrace) (https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/certification/which-retailers-should-get-rainforest-alliance-certified/). Missing: Independent confirmation of farm-level deforestation/legality status beyond what certifiers or traders attest to — this is the crux of the EUDR compliance gap (see below). Value: German study: roaster margin ~€0.89/kg, second-highest stage (https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz).
7. Retail / food service
Holds: Consumer sales data, loyalty/purchase patterns, pricing. Missing: Any upstream production data not passed through by the roaster/brand. Value: Highest margin per kg in German study (~€1.39/kg) (https://sca.coffee/sca-news/25/issue-22/mapping-the-past-to-model-the-future-dalaz).
8. Consumer
Holds only purchase/consumption choice; no chain data.
9. Waste / circularity
Spent grounds, husk, packaging streams; largely outside the traceability/data systems described in sources found — no dedicated source located this session on circular-economy data holders for coffee waste.
5. EUDR and coffee
- Scope: Coffee is explicitly named alongside cattle, cocoa, palm oil, rubber, soy and timber as an EUDR-covered commodity (https://earth.org/eu-countries-approve-another-year-long-delay-to-deforestation-regulation/).
- Obligations: Operators (importers/first EU placers) must file a due diligence statement (DDS) containing: plot-level geolocation (single point <4 ha; polygon ≥4 ha), proof of no deforestation after 31 Dec 2020, supplier/HS-code data, a documented risk assessment concluding “negligible risk,” and a signed legal-compliance statement (https://tracextech.com/due-diligence-statement-for-eudr/; https://tracextech.com/eudr-geolocation-requirements/).
- Who carries the legal obligation: The “operator” placing coffee on the EU market first — typically the importer of record, which for direct-sourcing roasters can be the roaster itself (https://tracextech.com/eudr-coffee-importers/).
- Current timeline (as of mid-2026): Originally due 30 Dec 2024; delayed once to 30 Dec 2025; delayed again in December 2025 (Council/Parliament deal) to 30 December 2026 for medium/large operators, with 30 June 2027 for micro/small enterprises (https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2025/12/18/deforestation-council-signs-off-targeted-revision-to-simplify-and-postpone-the-regulation/; https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/news/delay-until-december-2026-and-other-developments-implementation-eudr-regulation).
6. Certification and traceability schemes
- Rainforest Alliance: Requires chain-of-custody proof (segregation or mass balance) via invoices and its RACP data platform + MultiTrace traceability/traceback tool; now extending certification/traceability requirements to retail and food-service buyers (https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/business/certification/which-retailers-should-get-rainforest-alliance-certified/).
- Fairtrade: Verified via public certificate lookups from Fairtrade America and FLOCERT; focuses on trading-term protections (minimum price/premium) rather than deforestation data specifically (search results, no primary FLOCERT methodology page fetched).
- 4C: Baseline Code of Conduct; certified coffee must be physically segregated from non-4C coffee through standard operating procedures (https://www.purehqfilters.com/blog/4-c-certification-coffee/).
- Digital platforms: Sucafina’s IMPACT program verifies 11 mandatory + 71 improvement “responsible sourcing” indicators across supply-chain actors; Sucafina piloted blockchain traceability with Farmer Connect (built on IBM Food Trust) (https://group.sucafina.com/impact/; https://group.sucafina.com/news/sucafina-and-farmer-connect-sa-announce-blockchain-collaboration-improve-traceability-global-coffee-supply-chain/). Enveritas Certification LLC verifies farm-level responsible/regenerative sourcing using satellite imagery plus onsite visits (https://www.enveritas.org/get-involved/get-certified/). Bext360 used a “Bextmachine” (machine-vision bean grading) with blockchain-recorded unique bean IDs and Stellar-protocol digital payouts to farmers — described in older (2018-era) sources; current commercial status not confirmed this session (https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2018/06/01/agtech-blockchain-startup-bext360-raises-3-35-million-to-provide-traceability-to-commodities/).
7. Carbon / PCF in coffee
- A 2025 meta-analytical review found median coffee production PCF of 2.18 ± 2.04 kg CO2e per kg green beans, with nitrogen fertilizer manufacture/application responsible for 65–100% of emissions (https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/10.1139/er-2024-0079).
- Methodology commonly follows PAS 2050:2011 / general LCA practice, combining primary data (farmer/supplier records of input use) with secondary emissions-factor databases such as ecoinvent (search result synthesis; no single named “Coffee PCF Guideline” located).
- Primary-data gap: Sources consistently state the core problem is that farm-level primary activity data (actual fertilizer/input quantities, energy use) is rarely collected systematically, forcing reliance on secondary/database emission factors, with the gap compounding at each upstream tier a downstream company doesn’t directly control (https://www.mybreeze.io/guide/how-to-do-product-carbon-footprints; https://www.carbon-transparency.org/insights/introducing-product-carbon-footprints-pcfs-the-essentials).
Unverified or contradictory
- Trader market shares: No source found gives precise global market-share percentages for Neumann, Volcafe, Olam, ECOM, Louis Dreyfus, or Sucafina — only that they are named as the largest.
- Roaster figures partially conflict: Nestlé “>20%” and JDE Peet’s+Keurig Dr Pepper “19% combined” come from an aggregated AI-synthesized search summary, not a single primary market-research citation — treat as indicative, not audited.
- Farmer retail-price share: Estimates ranged 2.5%–10% across sources (Substack commentary vs. academic/NGO studies) — genuine methodological disagreement (different countries, direct-trade vs. commodity chains), not resolved here.
- Sucafina “IS” platform: Could not confirm a product specifically named “Sucafina IS”; found only the IMPACT program and the Farmer Connect blockchain pilot.
- Bext360 and Enveritas current commercial scale: Found only older/promotional sources; could not verify present-day (2026) adoption volume or whether these platforms are still operating at meaningful scale.
- EUDR “simplifications”: Search hits (Norton Rose Fulbright, Mayer Brown) reference a broader simplification package alongside the delay, but exact simplified-obligation details (e.g. risk-tiering changes, benchmarking-country categories) were not fetched in full text this session.
- Waste/circularity stage: No dedicated source found on data practices for spent coffee grounds, husk, or packaging streams; this stage is a genuine gap in this research, not just an omission.