Kenya eyeing Asian, Arab countries as coffee export destinations
KENYA – Kenya is actively seeking new markets for its coffee in Arab and Asian countries as part of its efforts to diversify export destinations beyond Europe and North America.
Last week, the country hosted a delegation of Asian buyers during the Africa Coffee Trade Fair 2025, attracting more than 50 coffee importers from China and South Korea for trade discussions with Kenyan producers.
The initiative aims to position Kenya’s coffee as a premium product in Asia’s growing specialty coffee sector.
Lucy Njine, a board member of the Agricultural Food Authority, highlighted the significant growth potential in Asia due to rising incomes and increasing demand for high-quality coffee.
“Rising incomes in Asia present a significant growth opportunity for Kenya’s high-quality specialty coffee,” she said.
Coffee plays a vital role in Kenya’s economy. A recent Coffee Research Institute report stated that the country produced 47,957 metric tonnes of clean coffee in the 2022/23 coffee year, valued at KSh 34.11 billion.
Coffee remains one of Kenya’s top foreign exchange earners, alongside tea and horticulture.
Lisper Ndungu, CEO of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, noted that expanding into Asian markets will reduce Kenyan coffee farmers’ reliance on North America and Europe, which currently account for over 70% of exports.
She added that growing middle-class populations in Asia present an opportunity to encourage increased coffee production and revitalize the sector, which peaked in 1989 with 130,000 tonnes.
To expand production capacity, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) has launched a national coffee planting campaign, aiming to boost coffee seed production from 5,000 kg to 15,000 kg by 2027/28.
At the time of the campaign’s launch, KALRO Deputy Director-Crop Dr. Felister Makini emphasized coffee’s role as a key economic pillar, ranking fifth in foreign exchange earnings after diaspora remittances, tea, horticulture, and tourism.
The Coffee Research Institute (CRI) Director, Elijah Gichuru, reiterated the government’s commitment to tripling national coffee output by 2027/28.
“Our target is to increase coffee seed production from 5,000 kg to 15,000 kg by 2027/28 to support the national coffee planting campaign,” he said.
A Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) report revealed that between October 2024 and January 2025, Kenya sold 243,419 bags of coffee, generating KSh 11.9 billion for farmers.
The report, dated February 2, 2025, detailed 16 coffee auctions held in October, November, and January.
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