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The Guangzhou Coffee Culture Festival is about to kick off on May 1-5, bringing 30+ global brands and 100+ citywide events to advance the city's bid as an international coffee trading center.

Not a traditional growing region, Guangzhou boasts 8,017 coffee shops — second nationally, first in South China. It's the main gateway for green bean imports, a creative coffee innovation hub, and a smart equipment export base. In 2025, the coffee industry chain generated RMB 67 billion, employing 150,000+ people directly, with green bean imports accounting for 42% of national volume.

History runs deep: China's first café opened here in 1836; its first roasting workshop followed in 1905. Today, 183,000 tons of green beans cleared Guangzhou customs in 2024, worth US$ 800 million to US$ 1 billion. Huangpu Port, Nansha Port and Baiyun Airport form an efficient distribution network, with 48-hour customs clearance getting global beans to market faster.

Equipment manufacturing adds muscle: annual revenue of RMB 5-8 billion, with smart machines packing IoT systems shipped to 100+ countries. JETINNO alone has an annual production capacity of 260,000 units, with 70% exported, and its products have successfully entered traditional coffee-consuming powerhouses such as Italy and Japan. "Guangzhou-made" is now a global coffee staple.

Source: Guangzhou Daily
Reporters: Zeng Fanying, Zhao Wantong
Photos: Su Junjie, Zhuang Xiaolong
English author & editor: Lyu Yun