NAIROBI, Feb. 22 (Xinhua) -- Kenya hosted a delegation of Asian buyers Thursday as part of its intensifying effort to diversify its coffee export markets beyond traditional destinations in Europe and North America.
The Africa Coffee Trade Fair 2025, held over the course of a day, brought together more than 50 coffee importers from China and South Korea for discussions and trade negotiations with Kenyan producers.
Lucy Njine, a board member of the State-owned Agricultural Food Authority, told reporters that the initiative aims to position Kenya's coffee as a premium product in the lucrative Asian market.
"Rising incomes in Asia present a significant growth opportunity for Kenya's high-quality specialty coffee," Njine said.
Kenya's coffee sector plays a vital role in its economy, as highlighted by recent statistics from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. In 2023, the country produced 48,648 tonnes of coffee, generating 251.86 million U.S. dollars in exports.
Coffee remains one of Kenya's top foreign exchange earners, alongside tea and horticulture.
Lisper Ndungu, chief executive officer of the Nairobi Coffee Exchange, noted that expanding into Asian markets will help Kenyan coffee farmers reduce their reliance on North America and Europe, which currently buy more than 70 percent of Kenyan coffee.
She added that the growing middle class in Asia presents an opportunity to encourage farmers to increase their coffee production and revitalize the sector, which peaked in 1989 with 130,000 tonnes of production.
Karuga Macharia, vice chairman of the African Fine Coffees Association, suggested that Kenya further penetrate the Asian market by promoting direct sales through e-commerce platforms and specialty coffee exhibitions across the region. ■