Factors Influencing the Development of Coffee Exports Handled by Coffee Board of Kenya

Abstract

For the most of the last decade, the coffee industry in Kenya has been under great stress. Ranging from a decline in production and prices to incessant internal conflict within co-operative societies, the sector has been a victim of both demand and supply side constraints. Attempts at liberalization, long held as boon to the sector, have presented formidable challenges, confusion and more conflicts (Dada 2007, Nyangito 2001). However, even after the liberalization of the industry, the balancing of the interests of the many players by the sector regulator Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK), has been less than harmonious and has led to conflicts and controversies that have added to the problem of decreasing coffee production and subsequently coffee exports. At the center of the coffee production chain is the Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK), which performs regulatory and licensing function of the coffee sector in Kenya. All coffee exports and imports are approved of and overseen by the Board. Thus the reduction in production of coffee greatly impacts exports, and subsequent foreign exchange and revenues earned by Kenya from the cash crop. This study determined and assessed the factors influencing the development of coffee exports as handled by the Coffee Board of Kenya guided by the research question: “What are the factors influencing the development of coffee exports handled by the Coffee Board of Kenya (CBK)?” The study used a census survey of the thirty registered and licensed coffee exporters in Kenya. The research design was descriptive in nature to portray an accurate profile of persons, events and situations (Robson, 2002) and used a survey questionnaire which was distributed to respondents on a drop-and-pick basis.