Kenya: Specialty Coffee in High Demand Abroad
Source: AllAfrica.com ()
The international Finance Corporation (IFC) has challenged Kenyan coffee farmers to venture into specialty coffee production to land better fortunes.
IFC Senior Manager for East Africa, Jean Philippe Prosper, says the demand for specialty coffee at the global market is high, now standing at 10 million bags.
He said farmers in the region should seize the opportunity to reap better returns for the investments.
Speaking during the Q-graders graduation cocktail party, Mr Prosper projected that the global demand for specialty coffee was set to rise to 30 million bags by next year.
"We are proud to be part of this partnership to connect Kenyan producers with the global specialty coffee industry.
We are encouraged by farmers and roasters, who want to use the global specialty standard to discover high quality coffees and premium process," said Mr Prosper.
The corporation in partnership with Coffee Board and Coffee Research Foundation has hired the US based Coffee Quality Institute (CQI) to help Kenyan farmers to establish linkages to specialty coffee markets, especially in the United States through e-marketing.
The move is aimed at supplementing the current auction and direct sales systems as growers seek competitive pricing of their commodity.
The old marketing systems have been faced with challenges, prompting growers to seek redress from the Government. CQI has developed a specialty coffee e-marketing framework known as the "Q Market Program" which defines standards for quality, and is a highly effective method for separating coffees that can be sold at premium prices in the market place.
He said the grading system creates a grading certificate as an electronic document that offers potential buyers a "picture" of the individual flavour profile a specific lot of coffee.
"This grading system establishes the basis for identifying coffees of "specialty grade," …