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still falls short by 60,000 to 70,000 tons per year, with more than 70 percent of that shortfall
made up by imports from Vietnam. Although coffee is not one of Thailand’s top economic crops,
Arabica’s unique growing requirements, at elevations of 800 to 2,200 meters above sea level,

make it especially well suited for forested highland regions. This creates opportunities to align
coffee farming with environmental conservation efforts, particularly by offering a sustainable
alternative to monoculture crops such as corn.

This chapter examines coffee consumption patterns and the structure of the coffee supply chain
in Thailand. It also presents real-world examples of how businesses and social enterprises use
coffee as a vehicle for generating income that can be reinvested to address social and
environmental challenges. The aim is to show how coffee can serve as an entry point for
connecting agricultural supply chains, an essential component of the Thai economy, with the
development of social enterprises capable of tackling social problems, reducing the need to rely

solely on government support. The first section of the chapter reviews the state of the industry
by looking at how coffee is produced and consumed in Thailand, laying the groundwork for
understanding both supply dynamics and market behavior. The second section focuses on the
structure of the domestic coffee supply chain, divided into three tiers: upstream, midstream,
and downstream. Drawing on a range of sources, this section outlines the size, value, and key
stakeholders involved at each stage, along with important contextual information to deepen
understanding of how the supply chain operates. It also provides estimated revenue figures
based on the sale of freshly brewed coffee. The final section presents case examples of
businesses and social enterprises involved in coffee-related activities, either through direct

business operations or project-based initiatives, and explores the motivations behind their
participation. The goal is to highlight the opportunities for social enterprises to help solve
problems faced by stakeholders across Thailand’s coffee supply chain, or to use coffee as a
means of generating income and profit to support their social missions.

10.1 Coffee Production and Consumption in Thailand

Coffee is one of the world’s major agricultural commodities, with global production and
consumption each exceeding 10 million tons annually. Over the past five years (2019–2023),
both figures have grown only modestly, by an average of 1.44% and 1.22% per year, respectively.
Approximately 57% of global production is Arabica, while more than 70% of coffee consumption
occurs in non-producing countries. Nearly half of this consumption is concentrated in Europe
and North America. The European Union alone imports around 90% of all coffee traded globally,
and Finland ranks as the world’s highest coffee consumer per capita. The international coffee
trade is valued at roughly USD 100 billion and has continued to expand at an average annual
rate of 8% over the same period. More than half of this value, about 53%, comes from green

coffee beans, followed by roasted beans (30%) and instant coffee (17%). Among these, green
coffee continues to show the strongest growth trend. In terms of pricing, Arabica beans typically
command a premium of about USD 2 per kilogram over Robusta, though their prices have also
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