Investments in coffee development have propelled Kericho County to become Kenya’s leading coffee-producing county, with the latest Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) statistics ranking it first nationally during the 2025/2026 coffee season.
Latest statistics from the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) for the 2025/2026 coffee season up to Sale 29 show that Kericho delivered 6,000,516 kilogrammes of clean coffee valued at USD41,008,474 (Sh5.29 billion), making it Kenya’s leading coffee-producing county in both production and auction value.
The milestone has been attributed to sustained investment in coffee development, favourable climatic conditions and deliberate county interventions, including the establishment of coffee cooperative societies, construction of coffee warehouses and fertilizer stores, provision of coffee pulping equipment and deployment of agricultural extension officers to train farmers on improved production practices.
According to Kericho County Governor Dr. Eric Mutai the county has distributed more than one million certified coffee seedlings to over 20,000 farmers through the Equalizer Seedlings Empowerment Programme over the past three years.
Dr. Mutai further says the County has supported 43 coffee cooperative societies with pulping machines, parchment stores and solar dryers, besides constructing the Kipkelion Coffee Union mill store to improve post-harvest handling and marketing.
“The county is now focusing on improving coffee productivity, enhancing quality and supporting cooperative societies to access direct international markets in order to reduce reliance on middlemen and enable farmers to earn better returns from their produce.” Added Dr. Mutai
Coffee farming has steadily expanded beyond the traditional growing areas of Kipkelion West to Kipkelion East, Londiani, Sigowet/Soin, Belgut, Lower Ainamoi and Lower Bureti, providing thousands of farmers with an additional source of income while reducing overreliance on tea farming.
Nationally, the Nairobi Coffee Exchange (NCE) recorded cumulative sales of 36,925,281 kilograms of clean coffee valued at USD249,968,778 (Sh32.25 billion) by Sale 29 of the 2025/2026 coffee season.
The cumulative national earnings had already surpassed the Sh31.38 billion realized from 34,819,937 kilogrammes of clean coffee traded during the entire 2024/2025 coffee season, reflecting continued growth in Kenya’s coffee sector.
By Kibe Mburu
