NAIROBI, March 17, 2011 - Kenya is poised to reintroduce robusta coffee this year in areas that do not normally grow the commodity, and possibly build a factory to process the beans once volumes are substantial, the country's regulator said.
East Africa's biggest economy stopped producing the bean variety almost three decades ago after production plummeted when farmers cut back growing of robusta due to low earnings compared with the arabica variety for which Kenya is renowned.
"We have a strategy to reintroduce robusta growing in Kenya. As and when we have sufficient supply we can think of opening an instant factory," Loise Njeru, chief executive officer at Coffee Board of Kenya told Reuters on Wednesday.
Instant coffee is primarily produced from the robusta coffee variety and grows best in low altitude areas.
Uganda, Africa's No. 2 producer of robusta, plans to set up an instant coffee factory this year.
Most of the non-traditional coffee growing areas in Kenya, which have expressed interest in growing the robusta beans after farmers earned good tidings last year following favourable international prices, have a strong potential of growing the plant, Njeru said.
"We are thinking of expanding to the western Kenya region where we should introduce robusta," she said.
"We need to really educate the farmers about robusta since it generally attracts less earnings compared with arabica, but it is also less demanding (in terms of farm input)."
NO DROUGHT WORRY
Njeru said an emerging drought in Kenya would not affect the current coffee harvest and was confident production would reach an earlier projection of 51,000 tonnes this year.
"Coffee responds very quickly to weather and we had some rains earlier in the year, which has had positive impact through the flowering period and provided moisture to expanding beans due for harvest in April-May," she said.
The main harvest season, Oct-Dec, had already benefited from last year's favourable weather conditions. The board projected the country would earn 18 billion shillings ($209.3 million) this year, from 16 billion shillings in 2009/2010.
International coffee prices, which have constantly been increasing, are expected to hold in the next two years on the back of a global shortage of the commodity, Njeru said.
Global coffee production stands at 130 million bags, with a deficit of 2 million bags.
Kenya produces about 800,000 bags annually.
"Like any bubble it will bust. They will inevitably come down," Njeru said, referring to the international coffee prices.
Coffee Board of Kenya has been on a campaign trail across traditional coffee growing areas to encourage farmers to increase productivity per unit area in order to cut their losses by riding on high volumes when the bubble busts.
Coffee exports were once Kenya's leading foreign exchange earner, but mismanagement has reduced quantities to current levels from a record 130,000 tonnes in 1987/88.
The regulator also plans to spur local coffee consumption by changing the east African nation's legislation that bars farmers from roasting and packaging their coffee. According to the board, domestic coffee consumption stands at about 5 percent. ($1=86.00 Kenyan Shilling)*****
