International buyers have reiterated their commitment to continue buying Kenya coffee, maintaining the local cherry are still highly regarded globally in terms of quality.
Although local farmers are grappling with low volumes, the traders stated that Kenya coffee is still classified as the best washed Arabica in the global market, owing to its pleasant aroma and high acidity among other quality parameters.
Kenya is globally known for production of fine Arabica coffee that fetches high premium with most of the crop grown largely in Mt. Kenya Region, Rift Valley, Western Kenya, lower Eastern and Taita Taveta regions.
Just last week global buyers of Kenya coffee reaffirmed their commitment to continue importing the commodity as it has high quality characteristics compared to other coffees in the world.
Speaking during a cocktail party organized by Kirinyanga Slopes Coffee Brokerage Limited (KSCBL) for international buyers in Nairobi, Marten Sievers, the Regional Managing Director of NKG East Africa Company of the Germany headquartered Neuman Kaffee Group, noted that Kenya coffee beans are in high demand in the international market.
“Kenya has a fantastic top quality coffee grown in high altitude and endowed with a satisfying smell. It’s highly sought after by consumers worldwide and thus fetching premium prices,’ said Mr. Marten.
Kenya coffee, he said, has the advantage of traders and consumers in niche and emerging markets and thus local farmers need to work on production increase and adhere to good agricultural practices.
“We have been buying most Kirinyaga coffee as it is certified and thus meets the standards consumers are demanding in niche markets,” added Marten.
Kenya, though among five leading producers in Africa, has seen low production with the current export volumes fluctuating at between 500,000 and one million clean bags of coffee annually compared to its partners mainly Ethiopia and Uganda who export more than seven million bags each annually.
Kenya achieved its highest coffee production peak of 130,000 metric tonnes in the 1987/88 crop year. But since then production has dropped to between 40,000 and 60,000 metrics, leading to Kenya losing substantial percentage share of the global market.
Despite this, the government since 2016 has been fast tracking key reforms largely targeting marketing and production and the implementation of the reforms has led to a new regime in the market with farmers owned organizations licensed to market the clean beans.
KSCBL Business Development Manager Patrick Kahonge explained that Kirinyaga County has high quality coffee and buyers are making efforts to trace the coffee to the farm level.
Kahonge noted that NKG has committed to buy coffees because they meet their standard and with them having a substantial amount of certified coffee and the coffee milled in Kirinyaga was recently certified to complete the value chain capture.
The brokerage company owned by Kirinyaga County Cooperative Union Limited (KCUUL) is one of the 16 coffee brokers registered by the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to market Kenyan coffee at Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE).
Since it was established in October 2024, the company has traded most of the coffee offered for sale at NCE with the clean beans fetching some of the highest prices at the auction.
KCCUL Chairman, Geoffrey Kinyua, confirmed that so far, the brokerage has through NCE, 7,137 metric tonnes out of 37,088 tonnes offered for sale, accounting close to 20 per cent of all auction volumes to date.
“In terms of value we have sold coffee worth Sh 4.6 billion (USD35, 737,558.64) out of Sh 21.5 billion (USD167, 029,940.10) representing 21.43 per cent.
Due to the exceptional quality of Kirinyaga Coffee we got good prices with an average price of $250.81 (Sh 32, 354.49) per 50kg bag which translates to $5.02 (Sh647.58) per kilogramme of clean coffee,” explained Kinyua.
The chairman confirmed that out of the total coffee sold through the auction 12 out of 14 societies in the county paid over Sh100 with the highest paying almost Sh130.
On Certification, Julius Ng’ang’a, Senior Director in charge of East and Central Africa at The Rainforest Alliance (RA), an international non-profit organization working at the intersection of business, agriculture and forests to make responsible business the new normal, said the global market is changing thus requiring farmers to adhere to good agricultural practices as part of maintaining consumer’s preferences.
RA, the Director confirmed, has been working with local farmers to produce coffee that has met high standards and assisting farmers with the requirements of the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-free Products (EUDR) by December 30, 2024.
The EUDR targets seven vital commodities, considered by the EU to be important in relation to the region’s consumption volumes and to deforestation risk -soy, cattle and oil palm, wood, cocoa, coffee and natural rubber.
“Kirinyaga county coffee farmers are leading in terms of certified coffee being offered for sale though the NCE. Farmers in the county are adhering to GAPs and thus earning premium prices in the lucrative markets of European Union and USA,” said Ng’ang’a.
The Kenyan government has been in the forefront in promoting trade within the Coffee sector and addressing challenges that farmers have been facing for many years.
In June this year, the government waived historical debts owed by coffee farmers nationwide amounting to Ksh6.8 billion.
Kenya coffee has been grown for over a century now, since 1893 when it was first introduced in Kenya. The total area under coffee is estimated at 160,000 hectares, about one third of which is the plantation sector and the rests under smallholder sector with an estimated 700,000 growers
By Wangari Ndirangu
