𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲: it is the 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱’𝘀 𝗳𝗶𝗳𝘁𝗵-𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮’𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗽𝘂𝘁. While best known for Robusta coffee, Arabica contributes more than 20% of the total coffee export value. 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝗼𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝟲𝟬% 𝗼𝗳 𝗨𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮’𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀.
Our assessment 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 “𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲” — the stage covering postharvest activities such as transport, processing, and storage.
The numbers: 𝟭𝟰% 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗰𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝗺𝗲 (~$𝟰𝟭𝗠) is lost in the first mile. An additional $𝟮𝟲𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 comes from coffee that is not fully processed or is sold at a discount due to quality issues. Combined, this equals ~$𝟲𝟳𝗠 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, with around two-thirds impacting farming households directly.
Value erosion occurs across transport, processing & storage:
𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁
Weak rural road infrastructure causes longer transit times and processing delays, while poor transport conditions further compromise quality. Challenges in transport can also incentivize bulk harvesting rather than the staggered picking of mature fruit.
𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴
Delays in pulping, due to lack of equipment, along with drying on bare ground or tarpaulins, and weather-related drying delays or shocks, can significantly reduce quality.
𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲
In-house storage exposes coffee to humidity reabsorption, pests, spillage, & theft risks.
Existing first-mile challenges are likely to intensify under changing climate conditions:
• Heavy rainfall can quickly make rural roads impassable, delays in processing, and slow drying of the coffee.
• Peak temperatures can cause cracking and quality deterioration.
• Inadequate storage infrastructure leaves coffee exposed to increasingly variable shifting weather conditions.
The good news: the business case for intervention is real. Targeted investments in drying and storage infrastructure (totaling ~$17 million) could recover $8.3 million in value annually, with a two-year break-even.