Rwanda’s green coffee export was 19,723 tonnes during last Fiscal Year (2019/2020), and generated $60.4 million (about Rwf57 billion), according to figures from the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB).

The statistics indicate that the country’s coffee export volume reduced by 6 per cent, while revenues went down by over 11 per cent, or $7.6 million (about Rwf7 billion).

The coffee export performance of the financial year which ended in June 2020 is short of the country’s target to generate $80 million from exporting 26,000 tonnes (in the 2019/2020 fiscal year).

NAEB Communication Officer, Pie Ntwari told The New Times that the coffee export revenue drop in 2019/2020 was largely attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic that disrupted the demand for the commodity.

"The main reason was the reduction of exported quantities also resulting from the reduction of global coffee consumption due to Covid-19 outbreak,” he said.

According to NAEB, to increase the quantity and quality of coffee, farmers are being encouraged to ensure their coffee is well treated by carrying out best agricultural practices, and proper application of fertiliser as well as pest and disease control.

Angelique Karekezi, Managing Director of Rwanda Small Holder Specialty Coffee Company (RWASHOSCCO) told The New Times that though coffee production went down because of seasonal changes, the quantity of coffee supplied to the market decreased because of the Covid-19 pandemic that limited coffee sales.

The company brings together 13,800 farmers grouped in six cooperatives.

 "The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted coffee sales such that either a coffee buyer no longer bought it because of the adverse impact of Covid-19 on their business, or they buy it in small quantity as a result,” she said, pointing out that such a situation influences a decline in the country’s foreign exchange earnings.

"We still have some unsold coffee in our store because of the market issue. We were pushing to see that they [clients at export markets] can buy at the end of the year, but most of them have been placed under lockdown again,” she said referring to Covid-19’s adverse effects.

She said that the large export destinations for Rwanda’s coffee include some countries in Europe, America and Asia.

"Countries like UK and Switzerland that are among major buyers of Rwanda’s coffee have returned into lockdown,” she said, expressing concern that cafés are closed owing to lockdown, which changes the coffee business.

It is also worth noting that coffee revenues have been decreasing at least for the last two financial years as they had also gone down from $69 million in 2017/2018 to $68 million in 2018/2019, as per figures from NAEB.

But, during that period, the problem was a 7 per cent reduction in coffee prices at the international markets as the export coffee quantities had increased by 6 per cent from 20,000 tonnes (in 2017/2018) to 21,000 tonnes (in 2018/2019).

Meanwhile, the country targets production of 31,000 tonnes of green coffee and $95 million in revenues by 2024, according to projections by NAEB.

NAEB has embarked on replacing over three million old coffee trees in the country in a bid to increase crop productivity and fetch more foreign exchange revenue from one of the country’s major traditional cash crops.