A federal judge in Manhattan ordered Green Coffee Company Holdings LLC to arbitrate a contract dispute with green coffee trader Sucafina NA that dates back to 2023.
A North American subsidiary of Swiss green coffee trader Sucafina Group, Sucafina NA entered into four forward contracts for green coffee with Agrosura, a Colombian green coffee exporter and a subsidiary of Green Coffee Company Holdings (GCC), which is organized in Delaware and based in Chicago.
An initial petition for arbitration from Sucafina alleges Agrosura’s shipments began slipping in late 2023 and into 2024, citing factors such as agricultural yields, weather, market volatility and financial constraints. A more recent court order says Sucafina and GCC attempted to renegotiate the contract terms.
“Over time, the contractual relationship deteriorated, and on October 25, 2024, GCC sent Sucafina a letter stating that GCC ‘hereby (and on behalf of its subsidiary, [Agrosura]) wishes to’ terminate all business relations with Sucafina globally,” a Dec. 16, 2025, court order signed by U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer L. Rochon states.
In its initial petition, Sucafina said GCC justified the move by pointing to an alleged late payment under separate contracts involving a Sucafina affiliate in Colombia, not Sucafina NA and not the four contracts at issue.
Sucafina initiated arbitration at the Green Coffee Association in January 2025, naming both Agrosura and GCC as respondents. Agrosura appeared and filed a response and counterclaim in April 2025, but GCC did not appear, prompting Sucafina to ask the court to force GCC into arbitration, according to court records.
GCC argued it could not be compelled because it was not a signatory. Judge Rochon rejected that argument, relying on an agency theory: The court said GCC’s conduct in negotiating and performing the deals reasonably led Sucafina to believe Agrosura was acting as GCC’s agent.
The Dec. 16 court order compelling arbitration is the most recently published document in the case, which is being handled in the Southern District of New York (case number: 1:25-cv-05752-JLR).
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