Rwanda exported 20 tons of locally consumed coffee in the 2024/2025 season, representing about 5% of the country’s total coffee harvest, the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) said Friday.
The announcement came during a briefing with NAEB and its partners, highlighting results from the Best of Rwanda 2025 competition, which celebrates high-quality Rwandan coffee and its growing popularity both domestically and abroad.
Orest Baragahorana, CEO of the Coffee Exporters and Processors Association (CEPAR), said the competition has helped increase domestic consumption of Rwandan coffee.
“Even coffees that didn’t win prizes are now being consumed because they gained recognition through the contest,” he said. “Our company started six years ago selling just one ton of brewed coffee locally. Today, we sell 20 tons.”
Claude Bizimana, NAEB CEO, said boosting local consumption adds value to Rwandan coffee and creates jobs. Many Rwandans have also received advanced training in coffee processing, some reaching international certification levels.
According to NAEB, Rwanda produced 21,295 tons of coffee in 2024/2025, up 25% from 17,038 tons the previous year. Exports rose 24% to 20,509 tons, compared with 16,479 tons in 2023/2024.
The Best of Rwanda contest, now in its second edition, honors the efforts of farmers, processors, and exporters in promoting premium Rwandan coffee. In September, a winning coffee sold at an international digital auction for 129,000 Rwandan francs ($88.18) per kilogram—14 times higher than the average coffee price this year. Twenty coffees were selected from 316 entries by both national and international judges. K-Organics Ltd, based in Huye, Southern Province, achieved the highest auction price.
NAEB said it is also encouraging Rwandans to maintain and rejuvenate coffee plants through a national program. Rwanda has 26 million aging coffee trees, and the program aims to rejuvenate at least 10 million trees over four years, covering 4,132 hectares, with 1,000 additional hectares to be newly planted.
Officials said the initiative will improve coffee quality and production while increasing Rwanda’s opportunities in global markets.
