Kenya coffee board cracks the whip on millers behind illegal trade

By Allan Odhiambo

Business Daily Africa

November 20  2011 

A farmer picks her coffee crop. Photo: Courtesy of Business Daily. 

Some millers and roasters could be investigated for allegedly engaging in illegal dealings that are fuelling theft of beans in coffee growing areas across the country.

The industry regulator, the Coffee Board of Kenya, said last Thursday if found guilty the millers and roasters would be stripped of their licences.

“We have received claims of some millers and roasters allegedly engaging in dealings that are causing theft of coffee and we have forwarded the information to the relevant arms of government for action,” the board’s managing director, Loise Njeru, told a media briefing in Nairobi.

Cases of theft and illegal dealing in the commodity have been on climb since the 2004/05 crop season, coinciding with a steady increase in prices that has persisted into this year. “Theft of coffee has become very serious especially around central Kenya.

We believe a lot of coffee is smuggled through our borders, especially to Uganda,” Agriculture PS Romano Kiome told journalists ahead of an international conference for coffee producers in Africa to be held in Nairobi starting today.

Coffee theft has over the years affected growing areas around Machakos, Kiambu, Thika as well as several parts of western Kenya. Containers on transit are also either stolen or their content tampered with around Nairobi, Nakuru and Mtito Andei on the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.

A sharp rise in prices to historic levels has, however, worsened the crime with thieves now targeting produce right at the farm level. During the ended 2010/11 season, Kenyan coffee prices hit an all-time high of $1,022 a bag for benchmark grade AA.

The thefts and illegal dealings are now targeted at the farm level because marketers and millers invested a lot in security facilities during transit and warehousing. “We are calling for vigilance among players in the industry because the thefts are injurious to the sector,” Mrs Njeru said.

The regulator recently placed a public notice urging millers, warehousemen and dealers to ensure they insisted on valid movement permits for all coffee received in their premises as a sign of authenticity, transparency and traceability of the coffee at all times.

“All value chain players must exercise this provision religiously,” the coffee board said in public notice.

Statistics by regulator showed that the country earned Sh26 billion from coffee over the crop year ended September.

Back-to-back seasons of adverse weather conditions in key producer nations has seen supplies of the commodity dwindle leading to improved prices on good demand as roasters scrambled for the few available offers.

The country’s just ended 2010/11 coffee marketing season had massive challenges brought about by supply shortages that even saw the auction sessions temporarily cut short in April.

The shortfall has partly been blamed on an unusually early crop this season.

Coffee volumes at auction surges around March but they peaked earlier this year after unusually heavy rains in the first months of last year.