This archive report was first published on 10 November 2019.
Kenya's Coffee Industry Faces Hurdles, But Fairview Estate Stands Out ¶
As the coffee industry in Kenya continues to face major challenges, one coffee estate has found a way to fend off the real estate money and remain afloat. Fairview Coffee Estate, a 110-year-old farm in Kiambu County, has managed to sell its coffee directly to major world buyers, earning more than many other farms in the country.
According to Fairview Estate Director Michael Warui, the farm's focus has been on coffee production, but with the prices deteriorating over the years due to new entrants into the coffee industry, including Vietnam, the farm decided to look at what it could do to increase its earnings. The first step towards value addition was certifying its coffee so that it could be sold directly to overseas markets.
With certification from Utz, Global Coffee Platform, Rainforest Alliance, and Starbucks, Fairview Estate is able to sell its coffee to major buyers overseas. This has enabled the farm to double the value of its top grades, selling them directly to international buyers for double the amount it would fetch at the Nairobi Coffee Exchange.
Earlier this year, coffee was selling at about Sh450 per kilogramme, but with the farm selling directly to buyers, it can fetch Sh800. The average price came down to Sh232 per kilo in September. Warui attributed the price drop to inadequate rains earlier this year that hurt the quality as well as over-production by other coffee growing countries.
Despite the challenges, Fairview Estate has started hosting tourists for coffee tours, a move it expects will help it increase earnings. The farm plans to develop a coffee theme park within the 100-acre estate, where visitors can experience more coffee-related activities.
Warui said, 'With the coffee tours, we are doing something similar to what South Africa's Cape Town and Stellenbosch do with the wine industry. We take visitors and give them an experiential tour of what it entails to produce coffee from the farm level to processing and finally how it should be prepared and served.'
As the farm continues to innovate and adapt to the changing market, it remains a beacon of hope for the coffee industry in Kenya.
