Importing less than a container ?

[joetimmons]

Does anybody have experience importing less than full containers? My coffee roasting operation is growing but we are still not at a point where I can justify the cost of a 37-42 thousand pound container. Is there any way I can import from farmers I know directly without paying through the nose? Or am I mostly at the mercy of wholesale importers until I can buy full containers?

 

[CoffeeJunky]

My friend and I have explore that route about purchasing directly from the farmers. Even at the container full, you won't get that much of price break.
When farmers try to sell directly to end users, they are trying to make few dollars more per their bean. They give you price that think its fair and that price is way too much or not reasonable. Also the shipping cost can kill you if you don't purchase container full. I think unless you can manage to purchase whole farms worth, its going to be hard to justify the cost....