Tanzania calls for value addition in African coffee exports ahead of G25 summit
TANZANIA – Tanzania’s Minister for Agriculture, Hussein Bashe, has urged African coffee-producing nations to enhance value addition in their coffee exports to secure a larger share of the global coffee market.
Speaking at a press briefing, Minister Bashe emphasized the need for strategic reforms to address the continent’s limited earnings from coffee.
Bashe highlighted the economic imbalance in Africa’s coffee trade, noting that the continent earns only US$2.5 billion annually from coffee exports while importing US$6 billion worth of coffee products. He attributed this disparity to Africa’s reliance on exporting raw coffee rather than processed products.
“Exporting raw coffee deprives us of the much-needed revenue to strengthen our economies and create jobs, particularly for our growing youth population,” he stated.
The minister’s remarks come as Tanzania prepares to host the third G25 African Coffee Summit, scheduled to take place in Dar es Salaam from February 21 to 22, 2025.
Organized in collaboration with the Inter Africa Coffee Organisation (IACO), the summit will focus on maximizing value addition and boosting Africa’s presence in the global coffee trade.
The summit, themed “Unlocking Employment Opportunities for the Youth through Regeneration of the African Coffee Industry,” aims to develop a collaborative framework involving the African Union, the African Development Bank, and regional financial institutions. These efforts will focus on youth employment and entrepreneurship in the coffee sector.
Representatives from key coffee-producing nations, including Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria, are expected to participate.
A significant highlight of the event will be the launch of the Dar es Salaam Coffee Declaration, aligned with the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme (CAADP) 2026-2035 strategy.
The declaration aims to enhance Africa’s competitiveness in the global coffee market.
Tanzania President Samia Suluhu Hassan is slated to address the summit, underscoring the country’s leadership in advancing the coffee industry.
Despite accounting for 50 percent of global coffee production, African nations earn less than 5 percent of the global coffee trade revenue.
To address this, Tanzania plans to establish a Coffee Research Centre for Africa at the Tanzania Coffee Research Institute in Kilimanjaro and a Centre of Excellence for Coffee Production in Dodoma.
These institutions will focus on coffee research, seed production, and training to improve coffee value chains across the continent.
“Africa is the birthplace of coffee. We must have pride in our product and ensure it contributes meaningfully to our economies,” Bashe stated.
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