Kenya is in a race against time to meet strict European Union regulations or risk losing one of its most lucrative export markets for coffee.
On Tuesday, July 15, the Ministry of Agriculture issued an urgent directive to relevant agencies to fast-track compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), or risk losing up to Ksh90 billion in coffee exports.
The EUDR, which was adopted on April 19, 2023, requires all coffee exported to Europe to be verifiably free from links to deforestation, legally sourced, and traceable to exact geographical locations.
With this regulation in mind, Kenya now faces a major logistical challenge, as the government has heavily relied on the EU as a top destination for Arabica beans.
