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Kenya: Coffee Farmers Set for Better Earnings With Kenya’s First Direct Export to South Korea

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4 years ago

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Nairobi — Small-scale coffee farmers in Kenya are set to start receiving better revenues with the first direct export of the commodity.

Kipkelion District Cooperative Union (KDCU)–an umbrella of 64 primary coffee cooperatives–flagged off a consignment of 134.4 tonnes of coffee beans to South Korea on Friday.

Direct export means the farmers group did not go through brokers or the auction.

Speaking at the flagging off ceremony at Bolloré Africa offices in Nairobi, Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony termed the move as a defining moment for coffee farmers in Kenya.

The move is part of the ongoing reforms in the sector to ensure farmers maximise their profits.

The export deal arrived in July last year during the Coffee Expo held in Seoul that saw a number of farmers drawn from several coffee cooperatives interact directly with South Korean importers.

“The power to earn is now wholly in farmers’ hands. The market liberalisation will cushion farmers who labor the most from predatory brokers,” Chepkwony said.

The cooperative union appealed to the Nairobi Coffee Exchange to give it access to the local auction.

The Capital Markets (Coffee Exchange) Regulations, 2020 allows coffee farmers to own brokerage firms to directly sell their harvest. Initially, farmers were forced to go through independent brokers.

The farmers union thanked the Ministry of Trade and Kenyan envoy in South Korea Ambassador Mwende Mwinzi for facilitating participation at the Expo in South Korea where it met buyers.