Organized by the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) and the Istituto per la Cooperazione Universitaria Onlus (ICU), with support from the Embassy of the Republic of Rwanda to the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Rwanda’s participation in this prestigious event aims to create long-term commercial ties, by piquing the interest of coffee lovers in the Netherlands and raising the brand’s awareness on the global market.
According to Rwanda’s Ambassador to the Netherlands, Olivier Nduhungirehe, the festival is an excellent event for coffee enthusiasts, significant industry leaders, and many other participants to enjoy the uniqueness of Rwanda’s specialty coffee.
“It is also an excellent opportunity for the country to increase the awareness of the coffee brand [Rwanda Coffee – A Second Sunrise] and to attract more buyers,” he added.
Rwanda is represented by eight Rwandan coffees at the Rwanda Coffee stand (G45), including Baho Coffee, Kanya Coffee, Kivu Belt Coffee, Mountain Coffee, Mubuga Coffee, Nova Coffee, Rwashoscco, and Sake Coffee.
Rwanda’s coffee brand has demonstrated potential for widespread recognition and stood out among other specialty coffee origins in the last three editions of the festival.
Speaking to IGIHE on the first day of the festival, Amb. Nduhungirehe emphasized the importance of the Netherlands as an important market for coffee, as it is the fifth consumer of coffee in the world.
He also noted that the Dutch people drink around four cups of coffee per day, around eight kilograms of coffee a year, and are the third exporter of roasted coffee in the world after Italy and Germany. Besides, they buy green coffee from different countries, including Rwanda.
“They are the seventh buyers of green coffee and where they roast and export to other countries. The partnership is important, and Rwanda is here to showcase our specialty coffee, which is very unique and very well appreciated,” he added.
Laetitia Mukandahiro, representing the ICU at the festival, expressed gratitude to the Government of Rwanda for their support to coffee producers through the embassy in the Netherlands, which enabled them to participate.
Emmanuel Niyomugabo, the Coffee Washing Station Manager at Rwanda Mountain Coffee, expressed his delight in being part of the festival, as it provides them with an opportunity to showcase their products to consumers and enhance their coffee brand’s visibility in the market.
Rwanda’s participation in the Amsterdam Coffee Festival is part of ICU’s Coffee Value Chain Development project, which aims to improve the quality and quantity of coffee produced by smallholder farmers, strengthen coffee processing companies and cooperatives to build more sustainable businesses, facilitate access to finance, and increase visibility on the international market.
The project is working with more than 12,000 smallholder farmers and 20 coffee washing stations across 12 districts of Rwanda.
As Amb. Nduhungirehe revealed, Rwanda exported 466.3 metric tonnes of coffee worth US$2,330,008 from January to December 2022, and the country hopes to increase these figures in the coming years.
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