Sunex Commodities trades cocoa and coffee across four markets (Africa, Europe, North America and South America) from two offices that do different jobs. This page maps where we source, where we trade, and how cargo moves between them.
Two offices, one chain
Origin hub
Douala, Cameroon
- Sourcing & origination
- Quality control
- Warehouse & loading
- Farmer & cooperative ties
- Pre-shipment survey
Global logistics management hub
Madrid, Spain
- Contracts & pricing
- Payment instruments
- EU compliance & EUDR
- Documentation & finance
- Destination coordination
The two offices are connected by the cargo itself. Origination in Cameroon produces a graded, documented lot; the Madrid desk contracts it, finances it and manages its journey to the buyer.
Origin sourcing network
The West African cocoa belt
Côte d'Ivoire
The world's largest cocoa producer. Main-crop beans through established partners, graded at load port in Abidjan.
Ghana
Premium, well-fermented cocoa under Cocobod quality control, loaded at Tema.
Nigeria
Main-crop and light-crop volumes with flexible loading options.
Cameroon
Our home origin. Full quality infrastructure at Douala and direct cooperative relationships across the Centre, South and South-West regions.
Central and East African coffee highlands
Uganda
Strong Robusta and Mount Elgon Arabica.
Tanzania
Washed Arabica from the southern highlands.
Ethiopia
Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Limu Arabica, washed and natural.
South America, our counter-seasonal lane
Brazil
Natural and pulped-natural Arabica plus Conilon Robusta, at scale.
Colombia
Washed, balanced, high-screen Arabica.
Peru
Washed Arabica, organic-capable, specialty and Fairtrade lots.
Ecuador
Washed Arabica and fine-flavour cocoa, specialty-oriented.
South America gives our buyers volume and profile variety outside the African seasons, and gives us diversification across origins and currencies.
Inside the Cameroon origin hub
Our Douala operations are the anchor of our origination. Here we hold warehouse and quality infrastructure, employ agronomists and quality controllers, and run intake from cooperatives. Douala port is our primary loading point for Central African cocoa and coffee.
What the hub does:
- Intake and grading: lots received, sampled and graded at source.
- Fermentation and drying oversight: quality built before warehousing.
- Warehousing: clean, segregated, documented storage.
- Loading: container and breakbulk loading at Douala, with survey and sealing.
- Farmer programmes: pre-finance, quality training and premium pass-through where agreed.
How the Madrid desk contracts a cargo
The Madrid desk is where a graded lot becomes a contracted shipment. It handles:
- Contracting: contract terms, Incoterm, pricing basis and shipment windows.
- Finance: payment instruments (irrevocable LC at sight, confirmed LC, CAD) and cash management.
- EU compliance: EUDR due-diligence statements, deforestation-free sourcing verification, and regulatory documentation.
- Logistics coordination: carrier selection, freight booking, documentary pack and destination handover.
- Counterparty management: KYC, credit limits and relationship management for European buyers.
Where our cargo lands
Europe
Industrial grinders, chocolate and coffee manufacturers across Southern, Western and Northern Europe.
Africa
Intra-Africa trade, with growing demand from regional processors.
South America
Destination and transit, where South American buyers source African cocoa and coffee.
North America
US and Canadian roasters, grinders and speciality importers buying certified, traceable origin lots.
Trade lanes and port pairs
| Origin port | Destination region | Typical routing |
|---|---|---|
| Douala (CM) | Europe (Med / N. Europe) | via Spain / Netherlands |
| Abidjan (CI) | Europe / West Africa | Direct & transhipment |
| Tema (GH) | Europe | Direct |
| Santos (BR) | Europe / Africa | Direct & transhipment |
| Buenaventura (CO) | Europe | via Panama / direct |
Transit times depend on carrier, routing and destination port. Indicative: Douala to Europe roughly 25–35 days; Santos to Europe roughly 18–25 days.
The rise of intra-Africa trade
A growing share of our volume moves within Africa, cocoa and coffee travelling from one African origin to an African processor or buyer. The AfCFTA context and regional processing investment make this an increasing lane, and our origin presence positions us for it.
Work with us across the network
- Buyers: tell us your destination, and we will map the origin and lane that fits your spec and timing.
- Suppliers: if you are a cooperative or exporter in a producing region, talk to our origination desk.
- Logistics partners: carriers, forwarders and warehouse operators. We are always building our network.