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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
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.

Kenya
By targeting foreign traders, deputy president alienates part of coffee industry

Rigathi Gachagua wants to get the multinationals out of the trading business and to encourage the development of national traders. But the three market leaders have made themselves indispensable to financing the sector.

Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 28.06.2023
Kenyan Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

Kenya, Uganda
Ugandan traders obliged to export Australia-bound coffee via Kenya

Australian buying groups now require Ugandan exporters to have their coffee certified by Kenyan organisations. It's the second issue in just a few months to have provoked tensions between Canberra and Kampala.

Coffee harvests drying in Uganda on 22 August 2022.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 20.06.2023
Coffee harvests drying in Uganda on 22 August 2022.

Kenya
Gachagua's coffee sector reforms challenge dominance of foreign traders

Kenya's deputy president is determined to reform the coffee sector and improve the situation of local traders in relation to foreign heavyweights.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 03.02.2023

Kenya
Gachagua seeks to revive glory days of Kenya's coffee sector

Kenya's deputy president has been tasked with overhauling the coffee sector, which is vital to the economy of his native region. He wants to create new institutions to revive a once highly lucrative crop that has been in a slump for decades.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 27.01.2023

Ethiopia
Ethiopia Commodity Exchange faces closure

The government has slowly chipped away at the now floundering commodity exchange, originally set up to allow Ethiopian producers to export basic commodities at better prices.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders 09.12.2022

Kenya
Ruto retains Kenyatta's coffee task force

The team put in place by the previous administration to reform the coffee sector has managed to survive the post-election transition, thanks in large part to the intervention of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

LogoSubscribers only Politics 30.11.2022

Ethiopia
Alarm in Addis as farmers ditch coffee for khat

Growing the chewable stimulant involves less red tape and uncertainty than its drinkable counterpart. Consequently, more and more farmers are planting khat rather than top-export-earner coffee, to the government's great consternation.

LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 30.08.2022

Kenya
Kenyatta fails to deliver key coffee sector reform

Kenya's coffee sector, once the flagship of national agriculture, is in trouble. The president's plans to reform it have been undermined by tension between the agriculture ministry, the senate and the national assembly, and will probably not happen before he leaves office.

Employees process coffee at the Central Kenya Coffee Mill near Nyeri, Kenya.
LogoSubscribers only Commodity traders, Politics 05.07.2022
Employees process coffee at the Central Kenya Coffee Mill near Nyeri, Kenya.

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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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