Stakeholders in the coffee sector have raised concerns over low consumption of coffee in Africa despite being the second populous continent.
The stakeholders attending the first G25 African Coffee summit that ended recently in Nairobi noted that despite producing 12 percent of the global coffee, only 30 percent of the population consumes the product.
They said that it is time for Africa to step up, unite regionally and create a vibrant environment for promoting consumption of coffee.
deputy director at the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) in Kenya Benson Apuoyo, noted that the global coffee consumption continues to rise due to demand but unfortunately there is no growth in Africa.
“It is crucial to accelerate domestic consumption of coffee in the untapped markets in Africa for the general socio-economic development,” Apuoyo said during summit.
He said that it is time to start consuming coffee adding that over 95 percent of Kenyan coffee is exported to the international market.
The AFA official revealed that Kenya has started promoting consumption by opening up coffee houses at two universities.
He revealed that to date there are 506 coffee shops operating throughout the country and that there are plans to open more.
According to Adugna Debele, Director-General of Ethiopia Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), Africa consumes 9,800 metric tons while Europe consumes 55,625 metric tons annually.
