Nairobi, April 22 (Xinhua) – Reporter’s note | Zero tariffs make the road for African coffee beans to enter the Chinese market smoother
At the end of March, the reporter met Mbula for the first time at the China Kenya Business Forum and the Zero Tariff Export China Commodity Exhibition in Kenya. In front of the booth, she greeted the reporter with a slightly accented Chinese word “hello”. Mbula told reporters that she founded Utak Coffee Company in 2016 and went to Yunnan, China as an African representative to participate in a coffee competition in 2018. It was that experience that established her connection with the Chinese market.
After the exhibition, the reporter came to the coffee factory in Mbula. The factory area is filled with the unique fruit acid aroma of Kenyan coffee. The coffee beans are packaged in different containers according to the degree of roasting, and the color gradually changes from light brown to dark brown; On the other side, coffee beans that have not yet been roasted are neatly stacked.
The coffee industry is one of Kenya’s important economic pillars and has long been at the forefront of agricultural export earnings. With the continuous expansion of China’s coffee consumption market, Kenya has become one of the important sources of coffee imports for China.
Chinese customers mostly purchase premium coffee beans with a rating of 90 or above, which have high quality requirements and belong to the high-end segmented market. Mbula told reporters that currently, the company mainly exports high-quality coffee beans to China, accounting for about 40% of its total export volume.
Entering the coffee laboratory, different batches of sample cups and standardized cup measuring instruments are placed on long tables, with each coffee bean sample labeled with origin, processing method, and batch information.
When it comes to the characteristics of Chinese customers, Mbula said that they attach great importance to traceability. After determining the purchase intention, some Chinese buyers will have a deep understanding of the specific origin, farmer information, and even the production process of coffee, and some will even visit farms in person. This consumer preference places higher demands on coffee – not just agricultural products, but also carrying the stories and cultural connotations of the place of origin.
China is a coffee consumption market and an emerging production force. In Mbula’s view, the Chinese market has the ability to identify and accept high-quality coffee. This is also one of the important reasons why we consider China as a potential market, “she said. Enterprises not only maintain interaction with China through the network established by industry associations, but also judge market changes by observing the development of China’s coffee industry.
China will fully implement zero tariff measures on 53 African countries with diplomatic relations starting from May 1, 2026. Mbula told reporters that with the implementation of zero tariff measures, the purchase volume of coffee in Kenya is expected to increase, driving business revenue growth and expanding business scale.
Caroline Kiohora, the marketing manager of Wutak Company, told reporters that the company also plans to use its zero tariff advantage to explore new channels in the Chinese market through cross-border e-commerce platforms and direct supply to cafes.
Farmers who pick coffee may also receive more stable income due to improved trade conditions. Mbula said that from traditional brewing to various forms such as capsules and cold extraction, the consumption patterns in the Chinese market are constantly enriching, and its growth dividends will gradually be transmitted to the production end in Kenya.
Michael Muki is responsible for baking and quality control at Utak Company. He believes that selling more coffee to China will not only improve farmers’ livelihoods and create more job opportunities, but also promote broader cooperation between enterprises and Chinese partners. This may bring new business forms, allowing more people to have opportunities for work and study, thereby improving their quality of life
In a corner of the factory, Mbrat introduced coffee roasting equipment from China to reporters. In recent years, while maintaining the export of raw beans, Wutak Company has also been enhancing its local processing capabilities. If we can export roasted coffee, it can create more job opportunities, involve more trained people, and add value, “she said.
When leaving the factory at the end of the interview, the reporter felt that zero tariffs not only reduced the tax rate to zero, but also made the path of African coffee beans from the production area to the Chinese market smoother, bringing new development space to local farmers, enterprises, and even the entire industry chain.