Organic coffee produced in Chimanimani National Park, in central Mozambique, has made its international debut by entering the United Kingdom. On Saturday 20 January, the first 500 kilograms of this coffee were exported, carefully selected bean by bean over four years.
The company Café Chimanimani, founded by former local journalists, expressed great enthusiasm at this milestone. "Today is a historic day", it announced, highlighting the rapid rise of the project, which began only three years ago. "When we began this adventure of producing coffee, in 2020, we never imagined that our product could so soon be enjoyed in a market as demanding as the United Kingdom's", the company said.
This speciality coffee is grown in the high, misty lands of the Chimanimani mountains, following agroforestry practices that contribute to reforestation and to protecting the reserve's soil, flora and fauna. The export of the first 500 kilograms is part of an order for a thousand kilograms placed by a British partner, with whom an agreement was signed in London in June 2023.
The company highlighted the challenges faced in producing and grading the coffee, still done by hand, though with plans to mechanise soon. "We thank our staff for the arduous task of selecting and grading these 500 kilograms of coffee bean by bean over a long four months", it added.
Mozambique's accession to the International Coffee Organization (ICO) last June, attended by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Celso Correia, reinforces the country's commitment to the sector. "We are investing in coffee because we also believe in people", the minister said, emphasising support for private projects such as Chimanimani's and the significant role of coffee in the country's future agricultural projects.
