Rwanda’s coffee fetched a record-high price of $452 (approx. Rwf670,000) per kilogramme at an online auction on October 21, marking the highest price ever paid for specialty coffee produced by K-Organics Ltd, based in Huye District, Southern Province.
The price is five times the Rwf130,000 per kilogramme recorded in 2025.
At $452, the winning brand fetched about 66 times the average price $6.9 per kilogramme of coffee at international market, according to National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB).
NAEB auctioned Rwanda’s top-performing specialty coffees from the Best of Rwanda 2026 competition through an online auction that attracted buyers from around the world.
Held for the third time, the annual competition recognises the efforts of coffee farmers, processors and exporters in promoting high-quality coffee and raising the profile of Rwanda coffee on the international market.
NAEB said the top 31 coffee lots from the third edition of the Best of Rwanda 2026 specialty coffee competition were successfully sold through an online auction, fetching unprecedented prices, with the top lot from K-Organics Ltd leading the rankings.
It indicated that it selected the 31 outstanding coffees from 320 samples submitted from across the country.
"With online coffee auctioning, we have recorded the highest price — $452, equivalent to Rwf670,000. We are proud of this as a country and as a coffee sector. The initiative started in 2024, when a kilogramme was bought at Rwf95,000, and in 2025, when a kilogramme was bought at Rwf130,000. This year marks a major milestone because, through other means of selling that do not involve auctions, a kilogramme goes for Rwf10,000,” Claude Bizimana, the Chief Executive Officer of NAEB said.
He attributed the achievement to farmers’ adoption of good farming practices, the role of supply-chain and processing companies, and the distribution of suitable coffee varieties adapted to local climatic and soil conditions.
"We also have sorting warehouses and specialized laboratory that tests coffee before we issue international quality and standards compliance documents to exporters,” he said.
He explained that coffee farmers are among the main beneficiaries of the Best of Rwanda initiative.
He said farmers receive 75 per cent of the profits generated from the sale of their coffee, while the processing and exporting company receives 25 per cent.
"We express our gratitude to all international buyers who participated in the Best of Rwanda online auction, contributing to the global recognition of our premium coffee,” he noted.
Jean Paul Gakwaya, director of operations at K-Organics Ltd, which received the highest bid for its coffee, said the price was five times higher than what the company received in 2025.
"We followed all the practices required to ensure our coffee is organic. We produce specialty coffee, and our buyers appreciate organic coffee. NAEB has helped us a lot in promoting our coffee through the Best of Rwanda initiative.
We came first last year and again this year, attracting the highest price. This is attracting more clients from the Middle East, Asia, China, Japan and other parts of the world. We continue to increase production and hope it will grow by 30 per cent soon,” he said.
Esther Uwimana, managing director of Great Coffee Farmers Ltd, based in Muhanga District, said the company’s coffee fetched Rwf168,000 per kilogramme at the auction. She reiterated that working with farmers to adopt good practices had played a major role in improving coffee quality.
"We are proud because we had not made it through to the previous competition. It is a milestone this year. This is good news for our company and farmers. We will continue improving quality and increasing production by distributing more seedlings,” she said.
NAEB said the revenue generated from the sales would enable coffee farmers to invest in modern farming techniques, improve productivity and further enhance the quality of future harvests.
The Best of Rwanda National Specialty Coffee Competition is an annual event organised by NAEB to showcase the finest coffee produced by smallholder farmers, while improving its visibility and access to international markets.
The competition and subsequent auction reinforce Rwanda’s position as a producer of specialty coffee. NAEB said it remains committed to continue supporting farmers and expanding market opportunities to ensure Rwanda coffee remains competitive in the global market.
The process begins with the submission of coffee samples by farmers, processors and exporters from across the country. National coffee cuppers, led by an international head judge, evaluate the samples and select those that advance to the national jury stage.
The highest-ranked coffees are then declared winners.
Winners of the first two editions fetched $71.8 per kilogramme in 2024 and $88 per kilogramme in 2025, demonstrating the growing market value and international interest in Rwanda’s specialty coffee, according to NAEB.
In 2025, more than $304,000, equivalent to over Rwf440 million, was generated from the sale of about 11,210 kilogrammes of coffee at the auction, while the total auction sales were $460,409 (approx. Rwf680 million) from 5,200 kilogrammes in 2026.
Under the Coffee Sector Development Strategy for Rwanda (2024-2029), the country set an annual coffee export target of $192 million by 2029.
For the last Fiscal year, NAEB’s data shows that coffee generated $139.3 million from 23,000 tonnes of coffee exports.