China News Service, Jinan, October 3 (Reporter Sun Tingting) Against the background of continued expansion of global coffee consumption and accelerated reconstruction of industrial and supply chains, Shandong, a province that does not produce coffee beans, is embedding itself in the global coffee industry chain from raw material imports, equipment manufacturing, intensive processing, terminal consumption and other links.
During the "Golden Nine and Silver Ten" traditional coffee production and sales peak season, Zheng Gaofei, a coffee producer in Zouping, Binzhou, Shandong Province, is particularly busy. The world's largest single instant coffee production project, which his company put into operation in April this year, is stepping up production to prepare for downstream dealers to stock up.
"Currently, we are supplying to more than 20 Chinese and foreign customers such as Yunnan Jinglan Coffee Co., Ltd. and Aolan Food (Shanghai) Co., Ltd." Zheng Gaofei said that since customers mainly focus on long-term cooperation, orders have been scheduled until February 2027.
Zheng Gaofei also set his sights on the main coffee bean producing areas. "We plan to build seven instant coffee production plants in Ethiopia in the next four years. Uganda has also invited us to negotiate coffee deep processing projects there." He said that in African production areas where coffee is the main industry, there are relatively few coffee deep processing projects, which is the focus of the company's current layout.
In addition to producing coffee products, Zheng Gaofei also has another company responsible for producing coffee equipment. Currently, the company is providing coffee production equipment to many companies in Russia, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. "For a production line with the same capacity, our equipment has a lower cost and a delivery cycle of 10 months."
From companies going overseas to forming an industrial chain, Shandong's coffee industry is growing in size. As of the end of July 2026, the number of coffee industry-related companies in Shandong Province reached 11,500, ranking first among the northern provinces of China.
Supporting this volume is Shandong’s increasingly prominent status as a coffee trading gateway. Qingdao Customs data shows that in the first half of 2026, the value of Shandong’s imported coffee reached 387 million yuan, covering many major coffee bean producing areas such as Vietnam, Brazil, and Ethiopia.
Most of the coffee beans needed by Shandong enterprises for production enter through Qingdao Port.
It is reported that in 2025, Qingdao Port’s green coffee bean imports will account for approximately 13% of China’s total. During the same period, Shandong exported approximately 823 tons of coffee and products with a value of US$6.7 million, ranking sixth in China in terms of export volume. Between "one entry and one exit", Shandong's status in China's coffee trade map continues to rise.
Trade flows are also driving the accumulation of processing capacity. Since October 2025, new coffee processing capacity has been successively welcomed around Qingdao Port. Among them, two new production lines at Nestlé's Lacey factory were put into operation. In addition, the Luckin Coffee Innovation Production Center with a total investment of approximately 3 billion yuan was completed and put into operation in Qingdao, equipped with three of the world’s largest single coffee roasting machines.
This full-chain layout is inseparable from Shandong's deep manufacturing foundation. The province has 41 major industrial categories. Ceramics, glass, mechanical processing, etc. together form the manufacturing base of coffee utensils and equipment.
On the consumer side, as a province with a large population and consumption, Shandong has also seen rapid growth in “village cafes” in addition to urban business districts. Among them, "Gaoding Coffee" was created locally in Chengwu County, Heze City, with an average daily sales of more than 300 cups; "Xiaoyin Coffee" was created in Hermit Village, Linqu County, Weifang City, specializing in persimmon raw coconut latte, driving tourism cooperatives to form a picking and homestay industry chain.
Dong Yanling, a professor at the China Economic Research Institute of Shandong University of Finance and Economics, believes that the layout of Shandong’s coffee industry is essentially the migration of deep processing capabilities of agricultural products. "Industrial development is highly restricted by the consumer market. Creating local independent brands will be a key support point for the future breakthrough development of Shandong's coffee industry."
