Kenya’s green coffee production is forecast to rise nearly 12% to 950,000 60-kilogram bags in market year 2026/27. The increase follows a lower 2025/26 estimate of 850,000 bags and is expected to return production to the level estimated for 2024/25. Farmers are reinvesting after two years of favorable prices, supporting more consistent fertilizer use and better pest and disease control. In the Mount Kenya region, strong flowering follows a drought that lasted into March 2026, and harvested area is forecast to increase slightly to 106,000 hectares as plantings mature. A government-backed expansion program provides seedlings and fertilizers through a revolving fund, though demand has created a backlog. Conversion of coffee farms into residential developments near Nairobi and nearby towns has slowed due to stagnating real estate, but analysts warn the slowdown could reverse without land-use protection. A new Coffee Act enacted in March 2026 reshapes oversight.
"Kenya's green coffee production is forecast to rise nearly 12% to 950,000 60-kilogram bags in market year 2026/27, with expanded harvested area and improved farm care following two years of high prices, according to the latest USDA Foreign Agricultural Service annual report."
"FAS pointed to a temporary slowdown in the conversion of coffee farms into residential developments near Nairobi, Thika, Kiambu and Nyeri. The report said coffee uprooting in peri-urban areas has slowed over the past two years as Kenya's real estate market has stagnated. Without a clear land-use policy protecting arable land, industry analysts cited in the report said the slowdown may be temporary and could reverse if coffee prices fall."
"Kenya is also pursuing a coffee expansion program in the Central, Eastern and Rift Valley regions through the government-supported New Kenya Planters Co-operative Union, which uses a revolving fund to provide farmers with seedlings and fertilizers. The report said surging demand for planting material has created a backlog."
Read at Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine
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