STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 35 But in Tanzania, which produced 1.35 million bags (60kg) of coffee in 2020/2021, domestic cof- fee consumption seems to have been suppressed by high prevalence for tea among locals. "There is change in domestic coffee consump- tion due to consumer preference for tea, which comes in part due to the high price of coffee com- pared to the price of tea," says a report analyz- ing the coffee consumption trends in Tanzania by USDA. Despite ongoing effort by Tanzania Cof- fee Board to promote domestic coffee consump- tion, market surveys indicate the annual per capita coffee consumption in Tanzania is only 0.06kg with only 7% of the country's total coffee produc- tion consumed within the country. This local con- sumption levels could as well be at risk of declin- ing as ICO cautions "world coffee consumption is expected to decrease by 0.5% to 167.81 million bags as the covid-19 pandemic continues to put pressure on the global economy and greatly limits out-of-home coffee consumption." Meanwhile, in Rwanda, the National Agri- cultural Export Development Board (NAEB), a government agency in the Ministry of Agriculture that promotes exports of agricultural and livestock products, partnered with private Rwandan com- panies to market the concept of domestic coffee consumption as a way to increase uptake of the country's unique coffee brands. For instance, startups such as Stafford Coffee Brewers Company, launched by millennial coffee entrepreneur Stafford Rubagumya, pushes even further the idea of domestic coffee consumption in Rwanda with good pricing of a cup of coffee to make it affordable to as many Rwandese consum- ers as possible. "It is imperative to develop the local coffee business in terms of consumption among the or- dinary folks to consume Rwandan coffee, particu- larly the youth who form the bulk of the popula- tion," said Claude Bizimana, NAEB's c.e.o., in a previous statement. "A substantial local market will help stabilize local producer prices and guarantee the farmers' prosperity," he said. Currently, to support the domestic consump- tion campaign, Rwanda partnered with the Inter- African Coffee Organization (IACO) in an initia- tive to make the coffee value chain in the country "both inclusive and granular." The initiative launched in 2019 promotes domestic coffee consumption across the Africa continent enhancing the transformation of the value chain according to IACO. The organization, which supports the African Union's objective of commodity-led industrialization across the region, works with Rwanda to support the domestic con- sumption initiatives through Rwanda-based coffee startups especially coffee cafés. For example, in Two Ethiopian men drink Ethiopian coffee on the streets of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 2021 IACO, in partnership with NAEB, supported Stafford Coffee Box to launch more coffee cafés in the different universities in Rwanda. "One exciting feature of the Stafford Coffee Box is that it provides em- ployment opportunities for young women and supports their academic pur- suits by supplementing their tuition expenses," said Fred Frederick Kawuma, IACO's secretary general emeritus. "IACO is engaging in similar initiatives in different African countries, hoping to get Africa's young population to ap- preciate the beloved African beverage that has won the hearts of consumers around the world," he adds. According to Kawuma IACO engages in similar initiatives in different African countries, "hoping to get Africa's young population to appreciate the beloved African beverage that has won the hearts of consumers around the world." Although the initiative is yet to catch up in Uganda, the country's Coffee Development Authority (UCDA) nevertheless led a campaign to increase do- mestic coffee consumption alongside seeking new export markets. Currently, Uganda's domestic consumption is 244,800 (60-kg bags) with a per capita consumption of approximately 1.4 kg, a trend that could be attrib- uted to UCDA's promotional strategies such as the ramping up participation in coffee on the road shows, barista championships, and Taste of Harvest competitions. Globally, ICO, in its 2019/2020 global coffee report said overall coffee consumption grows annually at 1.7% since 2014/2015 but was set to decline for the first time since the downturn of 0.4% in 2008/09, "reaching 164.5 million bags in coffee year 2019/20, declining by 2.4% from the previous coffee year." Africa stands out as the only coffee producing region where demand did not drop during the 2019/20 period at 12.02 million bags unlike other regions such as Europe and North America, Asia and Oceania, Central America and Mexico, and South America where demand and consumption declined. The push for increased domestic coffee consumption in Africa is seen as an option to cushion "smallholder farmers against green coffee price vola- tility and will lead to better retention of coffee incomes in the producing countries," according to CABI, a not-for-profit organization that focuses on improving people's livelihoods globally by provision of relevant information and application of scientific expertise. Growth in domestic coffee consumption also leads to increased job cre- ation and increased investment. But as CABI aptly puts it, Africa, and any other coffee producing market, can only fully reap the benefits of increased domestic and coffee consumption through initiatives such as "building a critical mass of specialized apprentices, in areas such as barista, alongside investment."

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