THIRD ANNUAL AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NAIROBI 001059 SIPDIS AID/W FOR AA/AFR, AFR/DP, AFR/SD, AFR/EA,AFR/EGAT/EG E.O.12958: N/A TAGS: EAGR EAID ECON ETRD KE PGOV SENV SUBJECT: THIRD ANNUAL AFRICAN FINE COFFEE CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION, ARUSHA, TANZANIA, FEBRUARY 16-18, 2006. ¶1. USAID/REDSO through the Regional Agricultural Trade Expansion Support (RATES) program, supported the Eastern African Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA) to once again successfully implement and host the Third African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition, known by many as the World?s WILDEST Coffee Conference (WWC), held in Arusha, Tanzania from February 16 - 18, 2006. ¶2. EAFCA was founded in 2001 through a USAID grant under the sustainable tree crops program. Since 2002, EAFCA has received substantial assistance from USAID/REDSO's RATES program and has undergone a major transformation to becoming a leading internationally recognized force in the specialty coffee industry. This third WWC attracted over 400 producers, traders and coffee stakeholders. In addition to the key regional players, approximately 200 of the attendees were serious buyers and roasters from outside the African continent. This annual conference and exhibition developed by the USAID REDSO/RATES team has also been a major factor in the marked increase of sales in African fine coffees to the USA, Japan and Europe since the RATES project inception. This year saw EAFCA taking over most of the critical functions of organizing and managing the event and highlights their progress in reaching their goal of financial sustainability within the next three years. Revenues generated from conference fees and the exhibition booths, combined with travel related expenses paid by the participants (all who were self funded),totaled a GDA estimated value at 1 - 1.5 million U.S. Dollars. EAFCA is expected to generate 100 per cent of their operational costs for FY 06 (approximate net revenues of 200,000- 250,000 U.S. Dollars) from the event. ¶3. The event attracted a number of international coffee industry luminaries including Mary Williams, co-founder of Starbucks, Jerry Baldwin, founder of Peets Coffee, Nester Osorio, executive director of International Coffee Organization (ICO),Rick Peyser, president of Green Mountain Coffee, Ted Lingle, executive director of Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA),Mick Wheeler, executive director of Specialty Coffee Association of Europe (SCAE),were among the many distinguished presenters and participants on the three day program. The conference theme of ?Africa: The Future of Specialty Coffee? was especially appropriate in light of the bullish market projections by Judith Chase-Gaines, a renowned coffee market analyst. ¶4. USAID RATES assisted EAFCA to hold national level ?Taste of Harvest? cupping competitions to select the top five coffees per EAFCA country. At the conference, a team of internationally known cuppers, many who came as volunteers under the USAID supported Coffee Quality Institute's (CQI) Coffee Corps, judged the "Taste of Harvest" coffees presented by the ten member countries of EAFCA (Burundi, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The judges included Lindsey Bolger (USA),Sunalini Menon (India),Arnoldo Leiva (Costa Rica),Stephen Leach (USA),and Daniel Mulu (Ethiopia). The top two winners from each country that scored over 80 on the SCAA specialty coffee scoring criteria (a score of 80 or higher is required to be considered specialty coffee by SCAA standards),were presented awards. Of the 40 coffees tasted, thirty scored over 80 with several top scorers from Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia approaching an impressive 90 on the international scale rating fine and specialty coffees. This is a strong indication of the progress EAFCA has made in being able to identify top coffees in the region. ¶5. As a service to its membership, EAFCA has provided an intensive year of cupping, milling, brewing and grading trainings. The trainings have been implemented by USAID RATES/EAFCA in association with the USAID supported CQI Coffee Corps volunteers. It is clear that the message of quality and consistency is being communicated: five of the eleven Starbucks premium "Black Apron" coffees originate from EAFCA members. A number of buyers and roasters have commented that they are now seeking out and purchasing more coffees from the EAFCA origins because of the fact that their customers are demanding the unique and distinctive flavors of the coffees. Suppliers are also able to more consistently provide these better quality coffees to the buyers because of successful EAFCA training programs. ¶6. Conference presentations ranged from market pricing and stock analyses to the experiences of exporters and importers. Panel discussions were held on a number of relevant topics including the feasibility of a regional African coffee auction, certification and sustainability, processing, relationship coffees and the demystification of the European, Japanese and US markets. USAID Washington staff Carol Wilson and Chris Kosnik gave a presentation on the future of USAID?s support to the coffee sector. The President of Ecologic Finance, William Foote, gave a presentation on financing coffee cooperatives in East Africa to purchase inputs for producing high quality coffee. ¶7. The keynote speaker at the final dinner was world famous primatologist and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall, whose TACARE project has been supported by USAID Tanzania for a number of years. The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) also receives support for their conservation coffee marketing efforts through the RATES Partners Fund. In her speech, Dr. Goodall highlighted the relationship that coffee has with conservation of the environment and wildlife and with the quality of life. The AA for EGAT, Jackee Schafer, and USAID Tanzania mission director, Pamela White, joined Dr. Goodall for dinner and were thanked for USAID?s support to JGI?s efforts to support small holder coffee farmers. The farmers are being encouraged to protect lands that will provide the leafy corridor for chimps to travel from the Gombe Park to other regions/countries with chimp populations. With the marketing of a Jane Goodall brand coffee, these small farmers should substantially benefit from the sales of their coffees under the JGI label sold through roasters such as Green Mountain Roasters and others who expressed a very strong interest in marketing these coffees. Green Mountain executives visited the cooperatives in Kigoma area prior to the conference and were very encouraged with the coffees they cupped and the level of the production in the region surrounding Gombe. ¶8. As in previous years, the Arusha conference was effective due to the wide range of coffee industry players from African small holders who recognize the value of investing in attending such an event to the largest coffee roasters and buyers from leading worldwide companies and international markets. The giant Ueshima Coffee Company Ltd. (UCC) of Japan attended for the first time and, like Starbucks who attended for the second consecutive year, indicated interest in purchasing more African origins as a result of their attending the conference. Market development progress was indicated by the fact that virtually all the major coffee import houses were present and had exhibition booths. Present companies included Neumann Gruppe, Volcafe, ED&F Mann, C. Dorman and Taylor Winch. EAFCA, with the assistance of RATES, is already undertaking preparations for the next WWC 4 event to be held February 15 - 17, 2007 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. For more information about the conference please visit www.eafca.org - www.worldswildestcoffee.com BELLAMY