Arusha — Low producer prices could be the reason that has forced some coffee farmers to smuggle the crop to markets in the neighbouring countries.

Stakeholders in the industry said the Sh 2,000 per kilogramme paid to the farmers at the primary societies was far below their production costs.

"The coffee industry is in deep crisis. There should be deliberate efforts to rescue it," lamented Edna Lugano, a project coordinator with Agricultural Non-Stake Actors Forum (ANSAF), a lobby group.
She said the farmers were not happy with the prices offered at the primary societies, especially in Kilimanjaro and Arusha regions, saying coffee producers needed to be given the freedom to sell their crop to any local buyer. She was speaking to The Citizen on the challenges facing the coffee industry and possible solutions to turn around the once robust sector to the national income.
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