Regional Program Launched to Retain More Value of African Coffee on the Continent

The issue of African coffee in the global market is not just about production volume. Producer countries grow the beans; however, a significant portion of the value created in the processing, standardization, logistics, branding, and final market access stages remains outside the continent.

A new regional program launched in May 2026 in Marrakech aims to change this structure.

Organized by the African Coffee Hub, Islamic Development Bank, and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on May 5–6, the Regional Forum on Coffee Value Chain Development in Africa brought together producer countries with finance, logistics, and private sector actors at the same table. Following the forum, initial agreements aimed at improving quality, processing, traceability, and direct exports were announced.

The statement "Nine countries signed an agreement" should be read carefully

Barista Magazine reports the development as an agreement signed by nine African countries for the coffee value chain.

However, other sources present a more nuanced picture.

At the Marrakech forum, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Madagascar, Uganda, Togo, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Morocco were represented at a high level. Nigeria participated in the program through the commitment of a company called AGARA for investment and research. Thus, the initiative includes nine countries.

In contrast, there is no official agreement text in public sources showing that nine governments signed the same multilateral document.

The first wave of MoUs clearly mentions agreements related to Sierra Leone, Guinea, Madagascar, and Uganda; other countries are included in the general framework of the program.

Therefore, describing the development as a "joint coffee program of nine countries" is more accurate than saying "nine states signed a single agreement."

The goal is not just to produce more coffee

An important aspect of the initiative is its focus on where value is created rather than production volume.

The announced working areas of the program include:

• Improvement of post-harvest processes

• Quality standardization

• Digital traceability

• Consolidation of products

• Direct international market access

• Development of logistics infrastructure

• Enhancement of local processing and added value

This approach directly addresses the classic structure of coffee trade.

When a producer country exports green coffee, roasting, packaging, branding, and retail margins occur in other markets. The producer and farmer access only a much smaller portion of the final consumer price.

Morocco is positioned as a logistics hub

Morocco's role in the program is more related to logistics infrastructure than being a producer country.

The plan of the African Coffee Hub is to consolidate coffee from different African producer countries through Tanger Med, manage quality and traceability standards in a more collective structure, and provide more direct access to global markets.

The connection of Tanger Med to Europe, Africa, and North America is one of the main justifications for this model.

If this structure is successful, some producer countries may benefit from shared logistics capacity instead of managing their smaller volume exports individually.

However, to see the real commercial benefits of the model, it will be important to understand how transportation costs, storage, quality preservation, and contract structures will operate.

Research center plan from Nigeria

One of the most concrete investment topics at the forum came from Nigeria.

AGARA committed to a long-term production area of 2,000 hectares under the African Coffee Hub program. Sources also report that a 1,000 square meter area has been allocated for a large research center focused on coffee in Africa.

The research center is planned to operate under the management of the African Coffee Hub.

This kind of structure could be significant for variety development, quality standards, agronomy, and climate resilience. However, the facility is not yet operational; therefore, it is early to discuss its capacity or outcomes.

Opportunities are different for countries like Sierra Leone

The coffee sectors of the countries in the program are not alike.

The needs of large producers like Uganda differ from those of smaller coffee economies like Sierra Leone or Guinea.

Sources regarding Sierra Leone's official participation indicate that the country aims to improve quality, processing, traceability, investment, and international market access.

For these countries, the value chain program can be used not only to increase exports but also to enhance the quality and price positioning of the exported product.

There is a broader transformation agenda for African coffee

The Marrakech initiative is not the only coffee value chain program on the continent.

UNIDO's ACT Coffee Programme, conducted in 2026, also aims for climate resilience, sustainable industrialization, and local value creation, starting from Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Malawi. The program is carried out with the support of Italian Cooperation and the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

UNIDO also signed a joint declaration with the European Coffee Federation in June 2026 to develop climate resilience, traceability, and sustainable investment in African coffee chains.

These parallel initiatives indicate an important trend: the focus of African coffee policy is shifting from merely increasing production to retaining more stages of the value chain in source countries.

What could change for roasters?

There are several possible outcomes of this transformation for roasteries in Europe, Turkey, or other markets.

Firstly, access to more standardized and traceable lots may become easier.

Secondly, if quality control and lot consolidation strengthen in producer countries, it may become possible for smaller producers to reach international buyers.

Thirdly, the bargaining power of source countries may increase.

If producer countries move beyond being mere suppliers of raw beans and establish more control over quality, logistics, and direct sales, trade relationships may also be rebalanced.

However, this will not depend solely on establishing new institutions. Physical infrastructure, financing, a reliable quality system, and long-term contracts with buyers are necessary.

“Local value” does not always mean local roasting

Increasing added value in the coffee sector is often simplified to "roasting coffee in the producing country and exporting it."

However, roasting exported coffee may not always be the most suitable first step.

The shelf life of roasted coffee, aroma loss, and different consumer profiles according to target markets exist. International roasteries also want to apply their own roasting profiles.

Therefore, it is not necessary for producer countries to export all coffee in roasted form to gain value.

Better processing, grading, traceability, lot separation, storage, financing, and direct contract mechanisms can also create more value at the green coffee stage.

Why should roasters in Turkey pay attention?

The Turkish specialty coffee market is significantly dependent on imported green coffee.

African origins, especially through Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, are featured on the menus of many roasteries.

The strengthening of new joint logistics and quality infrastructures in Africa could create more direct sourcing relationships or new origin options for buyers in Turkey over time.

However, it is still unknown whether the model established through Morocco/Tanger Med will provide freight, price, or delivery time advantages to Turkey.

Therefore, for Turkish roasters, the most important issue in the short term is not new price expectations; it is to monitor new actors in the supply chain, traceability systems, and direct purchasing opportunities.

Stafflink’s View

In our opinion, the main issue in African coffee is not just producing more beans but being able to transfer a larger portion of the value created by the existing beans to the producer countries.

The way to achieve this does not only involve demanding high prices. Quality standards, reliable lot differentiation, traceability, financing, and logistics infrastructure are also parts of bargaining power.

The new regional program could be an important start in this regard. However, its success should be measured not by how many countries signed a document but by how the price paid to farmers, the export revenue of the producer country, and local processing capacity change over the next few years.

For roasters, a more balanced value chain is not just an ethical goal. More stable producer incomes have direct commercial importance for the quality of coffee and supply continuity in the long run.