Coffee trading center to give China global reach

New facility in Shanghai Free Trade Zone may help promote domestic beverage consumption

The newly opened Coffee Exchange (Center) at the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone is expected to boost coffee consumption in the predominantly tea-drinking nation and give China a better say in the pricing of the world's second most commonly traded commodity, after crude oil.

The new center, which opened its doors on Monday, is expected to conduct transactions worth 84 billion yuan ($13.5 billion) by the end of 2017, and about 120 billion yuan in 2018.