Govt Grants Exclusive Coffee Export Licenses to 10 Companies

The government has proposed granting exclusive licences to 10 companies for the export, roasting, and packaging of coffee in a move that could shake up the sector.
In a gazette notice dated August 22, the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) announced the move, which was done under the provisions of the Crops Act No. 16 of 2023.
The decision is part of a broader reform agenda to improve transparency in the lucrative coffee sector and enhance the earnings of small-scale farmers.
The licensing initiative will now allow the mentioned companies to bypass intermediaries and deal directly with international players in the coffee sector.
Out of the 10 companies, seven were cleared to import, roast and package coffee for export markets. The remaining three will solely focus on facilitating direct sales of green coffee for export, a move which will allow them to work directly with buyers abroad.
The split in the licensing mandate is intended to promote specialisation to subsequently improve efficiency within the export pipeline.
In the gazette notice, the AFA invited public feedback on the proposed licences, with the public sector offered a 14-day window from the date of publication to submit any objections.
The public participation process requires detailed submissions from concerned parties, who are expected to table valid reasons for any opposition to the issuance of the licences.
Deadline for the final decision is set for August 30 2025, with stakeholders being given a narrow window to weigh in on the potential implications on the market.
Notably, Kenya’s coffee sector has shown resilience in recent years, with exports in 2024 rising by 12 per cent to reach 53,519 tonnes, up from 47,861 tonnes in 2023.
The performance was largely because of theincreased shipment of coffee to international markets. Data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) revealed that the majority of these exports occurred in the second and third quarters of the year, with 15,903 tonnes and 17,017 tonnes exported, respectively.
As far as revenue is concerned, coffee export earnings spiked to Ksh38.4 billion in 2024, compared to Ksh32.4 billion the previous year.