Nigerian coffee farmers are missing out on the recent surge in global coffee prices due to low investments, poor seed quality, and capacity gaps, while their counterparts in Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia benefit from increased exports and job creation.
Global coffee prices hit a 14-month high this month as adverse weather conditions affected harvests in Brazil and Vietnam, the world’s top producers. Arabica coffee, which dominates global production, has surged nearly 15 percent this year, reaching $3.66 per pound, while Robusta coffee rose to $5,609 per metric ton, according to Reuters.
Nigeria grows both Arabica and Robusta coffee, with Arabica, mainly cultivated in Mambilla and Jos Plateau, selling for between N5,000 and N10,000 per kilogram. Robusta, grown in Kogi and Oyo, sells for N3,000 to N5,000 per kilogram, with a ton averaging N4 million ($2,667). This is significantly lower than the global price, where a ton sells for about N8.4 million ($5,609).
Hassan Usman, president of the National Coffee and Tea Association of Nigeria, said local prices are not attractive, discouraging farmers from expanding production. He noted that coffee, once a key foreign exchange earner in Nigeria alongside cocoa and cotton, has been neglected by the government despite its global demand.
Kayode Oluyole, an assistant director at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, highlighted that Nigeria’s coffee production has steadily declined, with unattractive prices making it difficult for farmers to sustain or expand cultivation. He also pointed out that poor processing methods, such as drying coffee berries with seeds, reduce quality and deter buyers from paying premium prices.
Nigeria produced only 1,844 metric tons of unroasted coffee in 2023, with an average yield of 500kg per hectare, according to the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported zero coffee exports in the first nine months of 2024, while Ethiopia and Kenya earned $1.43 billion and $296.8 million from coffee exports last year.
Adeyinka Tekenah, CEO of Happy Coffee, said the industry has failed to attract investment in the past decade due to a lack of government support and incentives for farmers. Meanwhile, Nigeria’s young population, which makes up 63 percent of the country’s 200 million people, is developing a growing taste for coffee, yet most of the coffee consumed locally comes from imports.
