Government Challenges Coffee Farmers to Focus on Quality as Global Competition Intensifies
Kenya's coffee exports are projected to reach 55,000 metric tonnes in 2026, up from 52,000 in 2025, and the government wants farmers to understand precisely why the sector is growing and what could reverse it.
Henry Kinyua, advisor on crops and value chains in the Executive Office of the President, told journalists in Nairobi on June 16 that ongoing government interventions are steadily stabilising the market for one of the country's leading export commodities, helped by favourable rainfall patterns in major coffee-growing regions and elevated global prices that have strongly incentivised smallholder farmers to invest more in their farms.
But the message wasn't just celebratory.
Patrick Kilemi, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Cooperatives, said the government remains committed to enhancing coffee exports through value addition, branding and market differentiation.
Arguing that East African countries could strengthen their bargaining power and unlock new markets by working together to promote the region's coffee as a premium global brand.
The emphasis on quality isn't incidental.
Kenyan coffee farmers and cooperatives selling directly to international buyers are already seeing the premium that quality commands direct export coffees fetched an average price of Ksh51,317 per 50-kilogram bag in March 2026, significantly higher than the Ksh37,057 recorded at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange auction during the same period. Some specialty grades fetched nearly double the auction average.
Kenya holds a strategic position in global markets by exclusively producing Arabica coffee, a variety known for its high quality and strong demand in premium and specialty coffee segments, giving the country a competitive advantage that only degrades if quality slips.
With the government targeting 150,000 metric tonnes of production by 2028 and 35 of Kenya's 47 counties now cultivating the crop, the scale ambition is clear. The harder task is ensuring every additional tonne leaving Kenya commands the price its reputation warrants.
