What is a fixed price contract in green coffee?

A fixed price contract is one where the price per unit of green coffee is agreed upfront and doesn't change, regardless of what happens to the C-Market between signing and delivery. You agree £X per kilo today, and that's what you pay when the coffee arrives - no matter whether the market has moved up or down in the meantime.

Fixed price contracts offer predictability. You know exactly what your green coffee will cost, which makes margin planning straightforward and removes the risk of C-Market volatility affecting your position. The trade-off is that if the market falls significantly before delivery, you're committed to a price that may be above the new market level.

For new roasters, fixed price is often the most comfortable starting point - it's simple, transparent, and removes one source of financial uncertainty. Most specialty green coffee sold by importers to roasters is quoted and sold on a fixed price basis. Price-to-be-fixed (PTBF) contracts, where the final price is linked to the C-Market at a future date, are more common in higher-volume commercial trade and require more active market monitoring to manage effectively.