Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does this activity cover?
It covers the wholesale of coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices, supplying these goods in bulk to roasters, blenders, retailers, and foodservice operators, including for re-export.
2. Who are the typical customers?
Roasters and blenders processing the raw product, retailers stocking shelves, and foodservice operators, in the UAE and across the region.
3. Does this include re-export?
Yes. Sourcing goods at origin and supplying them in bulk for re-export across the region falls within the scope of this wholesale activity.
4. Does this include roasting or blending?
No. Roasting coffee, blending tea, or grinding spices is processing, which is a separate activity. This activity supplies the goods in bulk.
5. Is this wholesale or retail?
Wholesale. The activity supplies coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices in bulk to businesses. Retail sale of these goods to the public is a separate activity.
Start a Wholesale of Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, and Spices Business with Meydan Free Zone
Coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices travel a long way before they reach a cup or a kitchen, and someone has to move them in bulk along the route. A wholesaler is that link, buying these goods at origin and supplying them by the sack and the container to roasters, blenders, and retailers across the region.
The UAE has turned itself into a crossroads for coffee and spices, sourcing from origin and shipping on to the region. The Middle East and Africa coffee market is worth USD 17.14 billion in 2026 and is forecast to reach USD 24.89 billion by 2031, according to Mordor Intelligence1. Dubai has become the re-export hub at the centre of it: green coffee re-exports exceeded AED 3.5 billion, around USD 953 million, in 2024, according to the Emirates News Agency2.
For a wholesaler, that is a fast-moving market. Coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices bought at origin and supplied in bulk to roasters, blenders, and retailers.
The UAE has built itself into a re-export hub for coffee and spices, drawing on deep-water ports and air links to move beans from origin to markets across the region. The figures below show the regional coffee market a wholesaler taps and the scale of Dubai's re-export trade.
Sources: Mordor Intelligence (2026); Emirates News Agency (WAM) (2025).
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Picture a wholesaler's warehouse near the port. Sacks of green coffee and crates of spices arrive from origin and are graded, stored, and readied for onward sale. A trader quotes a roaster on a container of single-origin beans.
A logistics team books a shipment of tea and cocoa for a buyer in a neighbouring market. The wholesaler earns on the spread between origin price and sale price, plus reliable supply, so the work is a constant cycle of sourcing, storing, and moving stock. In a region that drinks more coffee every year, the wholesalers that win are the ones with quality stock and dependable delivery.
Whether it is green coffee, loose-leaf tea, cocoa, or a container of spices, a wholesaler sources these goods at origin and supplies them in bulk across the region.
Who is this for?
- Coffee and spice wholesalers: Businesses sourcing and supplying coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices in bulk in the UAE.
- Importers and re-exporters: Operators bringing goods from origin and shipping them on across the region.
- Bulk suppliers to roasters and retailers: Firms supplying raw product to processors, retailers, and foodservice.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a wholesale coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices business in a country that has become a re-export hub for the region.
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4630.10 - Wholesale of Coffee, Tea, Cocoa, and Spices
Under this activity, your business is licensed to wholesale coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices, supplying these goods in bulk to businesses, including for re-export.
A coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices wholesaler buys these goods in bulk and supplies them on to businesses. The range spans green and roasted coffee, tea, cocoa, and a wide spread of spices, sourced from origin markets and sold by the sack, container, or pallet.
The buyers are mixed: roasters and blenders processing the raw product, retailers stocking shelves, and foodservice operators. It is a sourcing-and-logistics business: the wholesaler is paid to buy well at origin, hold quality stock, and deliver it reliably, including for re-export across the region.
The activity is specifically for the wholesale of coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices. Retail sale of these goods to the public falls under a separate activity, as does processing them, such as roasting coffee, blending tea, or grinding spices.
The line is precise. If your business supplies coffee, tea, cocoa, and spices in bulk to other businesses, you are in. If you sell to the public at retail, or roast, blend, or process the product, a different activity applies.
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Third-Party Approval
Approval from the Food Safety Department at Dubai Municipality is required after the trade license is issued.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance
This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Citations
1 Mordor Intelligence. Middle East and Africa Coffee Market Report. Mordor Intelligence, 2026.
2 Emirates News Agency (WAM). UAE Coffee Sector and Re-Export Data. Emirates News Agency (WAM), 2025.
