Introduction:At the 20th African Fine Coffee Conference, the African Coffee Association proposed a new direction to promote the export of specialty-processed coffee, aiming to address the over-reliance on traditional processing methods and help growers achieve higher returns. This article delves into the transformation challenges facing African coffee, including differences in processing methods, market demand, climate and policy impacts, as well as practical strategies to enhance added value.
At the 20th African Fine Coffee Conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the African Coffee Association (AFCA) clearly stated to attending traders: the export proportion of specialty-processed coffee should be actively expanded, gradually reducing the volume of traditionally washed or sun-dried processed coffee. AFCA emphasized that although Africa possesses some of the world’s top coffee-growing resources, excessive reliance on a single processing method and insufficient brand marketing have long prevented many coffee growers from obtaining economic returns commensurate with their product quality.
To reverse this dilemma, AFCA recommends that coffee exporting countries strengthen brand management, adopt advanced processing technologies, and closely monitor the potential market impact of the upcoming EU deforestation-related regulations. Experts pointed out that the African coffee industry is at a critical juncture of transformation, and how to simultaneously address climate change and market access barriers has become a top priority across the entire supply chain.
It is understood that the conference, held from February 6 to 10 in Addis Ababa, attracted more than 800 coffee roasters, traders, producers, and buyers from around the world. The event focused on policy directions, sustainable development strategies, and the ever-evolving international coffee market trends, providing a valuable platform for industry exchange.
In an interview with the media, AFCA President Amir Hamza pointed out that the biggest bottleneck for African coffee currently lies in outdated marketing strategies, coupled with the dominance of traditionally processed coffee in exports, which limits overall value. He emphasized that Africa actually possesses highly competitive premium coffee beans but suffers from a lack of comprehensive sales networks and brand value, preventing most coffee farmers from earning reasonable returns. Therefore, he called on exporting countries to focus resources on specialty-processed coffee—such as honey-processed and anaerobic-fermented innovative techniques—and to improve overall export earnings through precise marketing.
He further explained that many African-grown green coffee beans are often purchased by large European and American traders, blended and roasted locally, and then sold in Middle Eastern and Asian markets under the names of other origins. Hamza believes that the African coffee industry must refocus on improving product quality and processing standards, and stay attuned to the evolving taste preferences of major consumer markets such as the United States and the EU, in order to effectively enhance bargaining power on the international stage. He noted that these two markets together account for more than half of global coffee imports and are absolutely strategic priorities that cannot be ignored.
The AFCA Executive Director added that local African coffee growers generally lack the expertise and processing technology required to produce high-quality coffee. He encouraged industry players to strengthen collaboration, establish complete supply chains from production to processing, and introduce modern processing equipment, gradually shifting the export focus from raw beans to specially processed roasted beans or specialty coffee. Additionally, he reminded that the African coffee industry is currently facing multiple pressures such as rising inflation, geopolitical instability, and soaring fertilizer prices, so businesses must adjust their commercial strategies more flexibly to adapt to market changes.
To enhance overall competitiveness, experts recommend that coffee farmers and exporters strengthen agronomic management training, familiarize themselves with the operational parameters and flavor characteristics of different processing methods—for example, honey processing requires precise control of mucilage retention ratio and drying time, while anaerobic fermentation demands strict management of temperature, oxygen, and fermentation duration to ensure flavor consistency and product stability. At the same time, enhancing post-harvest processing training for farmers is also a key step in increasing the added value of coffee.
According to AFCA analysis, non-coffee-producing countries including Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa are expected to become major future consumer markets for African specialty coffee. Regarding the upcoming EU deforestation regulations, the AFCA President believes that since Africa’s overall coffee imports still exceed exports, the direct impact of these regulations on African coffee exports is relatively limited—but ongoing attention to future policy developments remains essential.
Looking ahead, African coffee-producing countries still need to overcome challenges including climate change, difficulty in accessing capital, low per-unit yield, and high market entry barriers. Only through technological upgrades, market-oriented brand management, and international cooperation can they secure a place in the global specialty coffee market and enable coffee growers to truly enjoy fair returns.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
