Factors Affecting Trade Patterns of - United States International ...

Kenya
Coffee is a major export for Kenya. However, farmers have successfully
diversified their agricultural exports into cut flowers and fresh vegetables in
recent years. 10 Kenya is the third-largest coffee producer in Africa, and most of
its production is exported. 11 Ninety percent of the coffee grown in Kenya is
Arabica, as Kenya has a comparative advantage in Arabica production due to
higher altitudes. 12 The majority of Kenya’s coffee is produced by small-scale
farmers organized into cooperatives for marketing; however, several estates 13
operate as well. 14
Uganda
Coffee’s share of Uganda’s total exports has dropped considerably since the
1950s when it accounted for over 90 percent of total annual export value. 15
Currently, coffee accounts for roughly 20 percent of total exports. 16 Because of
the collapse in world coffee prices that occurred in the early part of this decade,
Uganda has continued to diversify into other commodities, but it still ranks
among the top ten coffee exporters in the world. 17 Unlike most other SSA coffee
producing countries, Uganda primarily grows the Robusta 18 variety rather than
Arabica, and it accounts for almost 90 percent of Uganda’s total coffee
production. 19 The lower-grade Robusta coffee is used to meet local demand,
while the higher-grade Robusta is exported. 20
Uganda is the second-largest SSA coffee producer after Ethiopia; however, its
coffee production has suffered from coffee wilt disease 21 for the past several
years. There is currently no known fungicide for this disease, so the infected trees
10
Kjollerstrom, Agro-based Industries and Growth, July 2007, 6−7.
11
USDA, FAS, Kenya Coffee, May 13, 2005, 2.
12
Loise W. Njeru (managing director, Coffee Board of Kenya) and Isaac Muchomba
(executive secretary, Coffee Board of Kenya), interview by Commission staff, Nairobi, Kenya,
October 17, 2007.
13
Estates are coffee farms on large parcels of land. Estate coffee is the product of one farm,
unmixed with coffee from other farms. Estate coffee is grown, processed, and roasted under the
control of the estate farm. Estate coffee is unique to an individual farm.
14
EIU, Country Profile 2006: Kenya, 2007, 30.
15
EIU, Country Profile 2007: Uganda, 2007, 23.
16
Ibid.
17
USDA, FAS, Tropical Products: World Markets and Trade, June 2007, 9.
18
Robusta is the other major species of coffee besides Arabica and has about one-third of the
world market. Compared to Arabica, Robusta plants grow taller, are more resistant to pests and
disease, and produce more fruits. It is grown in Africa and Brazil, and to a much smaller extent in
Central America. The caffeine content of Robusta beans is about twice that of Arabica. Considered
inferior-tasting to Arabica, Robusta is often used for instant coffee and in supermarket-grade
blends.
19
EIU, Country Profile 2007: Uganda, 2007, 23.
20
Eugene Nsereko (commercial manager, NKG Coffee Alliance Trust), interview by
Commission staff, Kampala, Uganda, October 22, 2007.
21
Coffee wilt disease (CWD), scientifically known as Tracheomycosis, is caused by a fungus
that blocks water and nutrients from traveling to other parts of the coffee plant from the roots, in
turn causing wilting and eventually death. The disease, which affects only Robusta varieties, was
first reported in the Central Africa Republic in 1927.
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