KUNMING, July 1 -- Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Wednesday began a container train service carrying coffee beans and other products to Europe.

With 2,050 tonnes of coffee on board, the train set off from the provincial capital of Kunming on Wednesday and is scheduled to arrive in Rotterdam in 15 days. Previously, Yunnan's coffee went to Europe by sea, which usually takes over 30 days.

The train will cross the border at the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang before passing through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland and Germany, on its way to the Netherlands.

Two return trips will be made every month, and it is estimated that 24,000 tonnes of coffee will be sent to Europe this year, Liu said, adding that the amount will be expanded to 140,000 and 300,000 tonnes in 2016 and 2017, he said.

Yunnan boasts 99 percent of China's coffee output. The province exported 67,200 tonnes of coffee in 2014.