Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua says there are ongoing discussions involving President William Ruto, himself, and US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman to establish a direct coffee-sourcing arrangement between Kenya and the American multinational coffeehouse, Starbucks.
Speaking during a Sunday church service in Nyeri county, the DP lamented that historically, Kenya has been exporting its coffee to Europe through intermediaries. He said that eliminating these brokers would revamp the coffee sector for the benefit of Kenyan farmers and the overall economic recovery.
“I thank the President; he spoke with ambassador Meg Whitman and she has planned coffee buyers in America called Starbucks to come here and meet the president and me so that they be buying our coffee directly,” Gachagua said.
“The people who buy our coffee are not Americans it is bought by people in Europe. And even there is one country that sells the most coffee in the world yet they have no single coffee plant. They are just brokers now we want to remove them.”
The deputy head of state additionally noted that eliminating intermediaries would enable Kenya to establish a lasting and smooth agreement with the U.S.
“The consumers of our coffee are in America, and they love our coffee. We’ve communicated to them that they should come and acquire our coffee in its purest state, and I can assure you they will continue buying our coffee forever,” he said.
DP Gachagua pledged to implement impactful reforms in the coffee sector, supported by a budgetary allocation of Ksh.7 billion. This initiative aims to benefit farmers and facilitate access to ready markets.
