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East Africa's hotly contested coffee sector
A worker carries coffee beans in a warehouse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1 July 2023. © Michael Tewelde/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPPaxPPP

Running story
East Africa's hotly contested coffee sector

An important source of foreign currency, coffee exports are the subject of a power struggle between multinational trading companies and the region's coffee-producing countries, chief among which are Ethiopia and Kenya. While governments try to impose reforms designed to favour local producers and intermediaries, international traders, notably German and Swiss, seek to maintain their dominant position. Fuelling the stand-off are new European Union directives on traceability and the social and environmental impact of agricultural products, which will have major repercussions across the entire sector.

East Africa's hotly contested coffee sector
A worker carries coffee beans in a warehouse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1 July 2023. © Michael Tewelde/Xinhua News Agency/Newscom/MaxPPPaxPPP

Kenya
William Ruto schemes to win back Mount Kenya's wavering coffee growers

The ousting last month of his deputy, Rigathi Gachagua, threatened the Kenyan president's standing in the centre of the country. Now he wants to show he's listening to growers of a leading export earner irked by recent sector reforms.

Kenya's President William Ruto in Nairobi on 1 November 2024.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 18.11.2024
Kenya's President William Ruto in Nairobi on 1 November 2024.

Burundi
Ndayishimiye banks on agriculture to boost forex reserves

The Burundian president is striving to revitalise exports of produce such as coffee and avocados. With parliamentary elections just a year away, the government is keen to show it can address a crippling shortage of dollars.

President of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye in Nairobi, Kenya on 5 September 2023.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 31.05.2024
President of Burundi Evariste Ndayishimiye in Nairobi, Kenya on 5 September 2023.

Kenya
Ruto retakes control of key coffee and tea industry reforms

The Kenyan leader seems increasingly inclined to listen to other members of the government involved in agricultural reform. Until now, this had been the preserve of the deputy president.

Kenya's President William Ruto (L) and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Nairobi on 20 October 2022.
LogoSubscribers only Politics, Business 30.05.2024
Kenya's President William Ruto (L) and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Nairobi on 20 October 2022.

Kenya
Trading giants try to weather coffee reform storm

Several Kenyan counties with mounting stocks of green beans have begun to defy Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's directives by again granting licences to multinationals.

A coffee factory in Nairobi in 2011.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 17.04.2024
A coffee factory in Nairobi in 2011.

Kenya
Nairobi risks falling foul of EU deforestation rules

Unlike its neighbours Uganda and Ethiopia, Kenya has yet to announce a national plan to bring its coffee sector into line with European anti-deforestation regulations, having been too preoccupied with other reforms in the sector.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 08.04.2024

Spotlight | Ethiopia, Uganda
Russia looks for new ways to import African coffee

For logistical and financial reasons, Russian coffee importers increasingly have to use intermediaries to get round Western sanctions, while Moscow is trying to open doors in producer countries such as Uganda and Ethiopia.

A Moscow branch of Stars Coffee, a chain that has taken over Starbucks outlets
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 13.03.2024
A Moscow branch of Stars Coffee, a chain that has taken over Starbucks outlets

Kenya
Ruto refuses to cancel coffee growers' debts

The coffee sector has struggled to find funding since recent reforms sidelined multinational traders. Meanwhile, the government is having a hard time selling its own proposals.

Kenyan president William Ruto.
LogoSubscribers only Finance, Politics 22.02.2024
Kenyan president William Ruto.

Ethiopia
Addis Ababa seeks to soften EU stance on deforestation

The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority has announced a national plan to prepare the coffee sector for implementation of an EU regulation on deforestation, which threatens to hit African coffee producers hard. Ethiopia is already feeling its effects.

Workers carry coffee beans in a warehouse at Mullege Public Limited Company, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 1, 2023.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Diplomacy 21.02.2024
Workers carry coffee beans in a warehouse at Mullege Public Limited Company, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, July 1, 2023.

Ethiopia
Coffee leader Kerchanshe champions Brazilian growing methods

In the space of a few years, the new sponsor of African Fine Coffees Association has become one of the largest producers and exporters in Ethiopia and could now be a source of inspiration for new growing techniques, from Uganda to Malawi.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 15.02.2024

Kenya
Gachagua quietly hands coffee reform reins to controversial Kenyatta-era economist

The deputy president's efforts to shake up a pillar of Kenya's economy are directly inspired by the work of Joseph Kieyah, an academic whom ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta tasked with breathing new life into the sector in 2016 and who is now back in the picture.

Kenyan deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 01.02.2024
Kenyan deputy president Rigathi Gachagua.

Kenya
Gachagua coffee reform adviser controversially takes helm of brokerage firm

The Rigathi Gachagua ally Peter Githinji Njuki has not only been appointed CEO of a new coffee brokerage firm but has also obtained a place on a working group focused on the reform of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 04.01.2024

Ethiopia
New EU rules prompt coffee sector to seek fresh markets

Africa's largest coffee producer is set to bear the brunt of Brussels's new traceability directives. Consequently, it has begun to turn its attention to India and China.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 06.12.2023

Kenya
Starbucks pours cold water on Gachagua's plans

The US mega-chain has decided not to buy its coffee directly from Kenyan producers. This is unwelcome news for the country's deputy president, who has been tussling with multinational traders and is now trying to smooth things over.

Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Bogota, Colombia, on 12 September 2023.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 21.11.2023
Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in Bogota, Colombia, on 12 September 2023.

Ethiopia
Coffee sector hobbled by drive for foreign currency

The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority has come under fire after limiting the amount of coffee that private individuals can take out of the country. It has been juggling the difficult task of regulating the sector with its ambitious targets for bringing dollars into the country.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Business 16.11.2023

Kenya
Gachagua's coffee reforms leave bitter taste in Mount Kenya

Kenya's deputy president is doing what he can to make up for coffee farmers' loss of financial support from multinational traders. But the public funds recently made available may not be enough to keep producers sweet.

LogoSubscribers only Politics, Business 26.10.2023

Kenya
Deputy President Gachagua follows up Brussels trip with visit to Germany

Kenyan agricultural reforms have had a direct impact on certain German multinationals. This will be a key subject during Rigathi Gachagua's trip to Germany as the two countries seek to forge closer diplomatic and commercial relations.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Diplomacy 24.10.2023

Kenya
Rigathi Gachagua's coffee reforms rile multinationals

The deputy president, who has embarked on an ambitious reform of the coffee industry, has set his sights on major traders. But with sales on the Nairobi Coffee Exchange plummeting, the main players targeted have no intention of rolling over.

Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 09.10.2023
Kenya's Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Kenya
Kenya coffee reforms pummel multinationals, boost local firms

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's zealous coffee reforms, aimed at giving Kenyan firms a larger share of the spoils, have hit multinationals like Neumann Kaffee Gruppe hard. They are also part of the government's attack on the interests of ex-president Kenyatta.

Samples of coffee beans sit at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange on 11 June 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 18.09.2023
Samples of coffee beans sit at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange on 11 June 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Kenya
Deputy President Gachagua single-handedly steers ambitious coffee reform

Rigathi Gachagua, who has been tasked with revitalising Kenya's coffee industry, has dismissed a number of experts and officials in the sector. He is also using his open war on multinational trading companies to try to consolidate his political base.

Rigathi Gachagua (left) and William Ruto, 30 June 2022.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 29.08.2023
Rigathi Gachagua (left) and William Ruto, 30 June 2022.

Inner circles | Uganda
Museveni deploys dream team to reset trade deficit

The Ugandan president has tasked his son-in-law, Odrek Rwabwogo, with doubling the country's export earnings over the next five years. A tightly-knit and well-equipped team with contacts in key sectors is now getting up to speed.

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni.
LogoSubscribers only Finance, Politics, Business 14.07.2023
Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni.

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A worker carries coffee beans in a warehouse in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 1 July 2023.

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East Africa's hotly contested coffee sector

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