Kenya flags off first EUDR-compliant coffee exports to Poland

PS Cooperatives and MSMEs Patrick Kilemi before the Public Accounts Committee at Bunge Towers, Parliament, Nairobi. June 17, 2025 [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Kenya has flagged off a container carrying 320 bags of coffee compliant with the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), destined for Poland.

The shipment, valued at Sh25 million, marks the country’s first direct coffee export to Poland, and a shift from the country’s previous reliance on indirect imports.

The Principal Secretary in the State Department for Cooperatives, Patrick Kilemi, says the milestone demonstrates Kenya’s readiness to meet EUDR requirements, despite the extended regulation’s implementation timeline.

“This achievement reflects the strong collaboration between government, farmers, cooperatives, and our valued development partners whose continued support in capacity building, traceability systems and compliance frameworks has been instrumental,” Kilemi said.

“As we align with the requirements, we reaffirm our commitment to responsible trade, environmental conservation, and inclusive growth that uplifts our farmers and secures Kenya’s position in global markets,” he added.

He noted that the full implementation of the guidelines will revitalise and increase production, thereby raising the sector’s contribution to the economy to Sh1 trillion annually. “Our strategy focuses on boosting productivity of existing coffee farms while expanding cultivation into new regions,” he says.

The flag-off event took place at the NKPCU facility in Dandora, Nairobi, and was organised in collaboration with the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, as well as the Kenya Coffee Platform.

Head of the Polish Investment and Trade Agency Łukasz Słoniowski welcomed the development, explaining that Poland depends on imports due to its unsuitable climate for coffee production.

He said the partnership will make Kenyan coffee more accessible to Polish consumers while positioning Poland as a gateway to other European markets.

“Poland, as a member of the European Union (EU), fully complies with EUDR regulations. Located at the heart of Europe, the country also serves as a gateway to neighbouring markets such as Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Ukraine,” Słoniowski says.  

New KPCU Managing Director Timothy Mirugi said the shipment marks more than an export as it is proof of concept that Kenya is ready to meet global standards on traceability, sustainability and compliance, strengthening its position in the EU market.

“Through farm-level mapping, QR-based traceability, and verified sourcing, this milestone reflects a sector that is evolving; guided by strong policy, enabled by partnerships and driven by farmers,” said Mirugi.

“At this time last year, there was widespread concern about whether Kenya would continue exporting coffee to Europe, which accounts for approximately 55 per cent of our coffee exports. Today’s achievement demonstrates that we are fully prepared,” he says.

Mirugi has also observed growing interest in coffee farming, with many farmers transitioning from other crops. This shift reflects increasing recognition of coffee as a profitable and sustainable investment.

He adds that efforts are underway to boost domestic coffee consumption and strengthen extension services to ensure farmers maintain Kenya’s reputation for high-quality coffee.

“At New KPCU, we are proud to support this transformation by providing aggregation, market access, and transparent systems that ensure farmers benefit from global opportunities,” said Mirugi.

Under the EUDR regulation, which was initially set to take effect at the end of 2024 but was extended to give countries like Kenya time to fully align with the new requirements, companies must prove that products such as coffee, cocoa, soy, beef, palm oil, rubber, and wood were not produced on land deforested after December 2020.

This means that all such products must be traceable to non-deforested land and must be accompanied by verifiable evidence of compliance.

These regulations pushed the Kenyan government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, to embark on a major geospatial mapping exercise to trace all land used for coffee farming.

The initiative was led by the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA), the regulator of scheduled crops under the Crops Act, 2013. So far, 30 per cent of Kenya’s total coffee-growing area, equivalent to 32,688 hectares across 16 of the 33 coffee-producing counties, has been mapped using satellite imagery.

The total national coffee area stands at 109,384 hectares.

Kenya exports 95 per cent of its coffee, with over 55 per cent of it destined for the European Union (EU), particularly to Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Poland, and Finland.

In the last five years, the country exported 122,699 metric tonnes of clean coffee to the EU, worth $695.7 million ( Sh90 billion).

With 70 per cent of Kenya’s coffee produced by smallholder farmers, the implications of non-compliance are significant. Coffee farming supports the rural economy across 33 counties, making the success of the geo-mapping project and EUDR compliance critical not just for trade but for the livelihoods of tens of thousands of farmers.

Kevin Onyango, Senior Research Associate at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, acknowledges the role of smallholder farmers and cooperatives in ensuring traceability and transparency, and emphasises the importance of inclusivity, particularly the role of women, in achieving sustainability.

“Initially, there were concerns that farmers might lose access to the EU market. However, through collaboration with partners, we have developed a replicable model for compliance, not only for Kenya but also for other African countries,” he says.

Onyango recognises the critical role of women in the coffee value chain. “From production to processing and household decision-making, women are central to this sector,” he says.

He adds that ensuring women have equal access to resources, information, and markets is essential. 

Kenya Coffee Platform, Chairman Karugu Macharia, stressed that stakeholders’ unity and government commitment have been critical in meeting EUDR standards ahead of schedule.

He said the shipment represents more than its monetary value; it symbolises a future where Kenyan coffee production supports environmental sustainability, improves farmer incomes and remains competitive globally.