On 15 July 2021, coffee farmers and processors from across the world are meeting in Rwanda to assess the challenges in the coffee value chain. 

The meeting is attracting industry leaders, economists and analysts particularly to forge solutions to the challenges that farmers who produce raw and unroasted coffee face. 

Since its inauguration in 2017, the biennial event was previously held in Colombia and Brazil. 

Alexis Nkurunziza, the Acting Traditional Commodities Division Manager at the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB), said that the fact that Rwanda was chosen to host the event is a demonstration of the country’s good infrastructure to host international conferences and good ranking in coffee quality production.

“Given that this is a global event, producers from Rwanda will also get a chance to interact with other producers from all over the world and share experiences,” he said.

Among other global awards, in 2018, Rwandan coffee scooped both the “Best of the Best” and “Coffee Lover’s Choice” awards in a competition that attracted brands from nine countries.

Among the key drivers of Rwanda’s coffee exports is the Electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) that was launched in 2018, opening doors for small businesses in Africa to take part in cross-border electronic trade.

Several brands of Rwandan single origin coffee are already available for sale on this platform.

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