Butanyerera : coffee sold at a loss, producers warn

SOS Médias Burundi

Butanyerera, October 3, 2025 — In the new province of Butanyerera, formed from the former provinces of Kayanza and Ngozi, among others, coffee growers are sounding the alarm. They denounce the current price of coffee, which they consider too low, and call on the government to revise it upwards. For them, the current price does not cover production costs or the efforts made from plowing, planting, mulching, and harvesting.

According to a producer in the Mparamirundi area, on the border with Rwanda, the price of a kilo of coffee would have to increase from 5,000 to 10,000 Bif to become profitable. “With what we’re currently receiving, we’re operating at a loss,” he says, calling on the authorities to listen to the producers’ voices.

Threat to abandon coffee growing

Discouraged, many coffee growers are considering turning their backs on this crop, which is one of the country’s main sources of foreign currencies. Some say they are ready to replace coffee with food crops such as beans or other crops that offer better prices and quick returns.

The temptation of the Rwandan market

Producers are also concerned about the fraudulent sale of coffee to neighboring Rwanda, where a kilo is selling for 2,000 Rwanda francs, or nearly 11,000 Fbu. This price differential is forcing several Burundian producers to cross the border to sell their harvests, depriving the Burundian government of valuable foreign currency.

An urgent appeal to the government

Coffee farmers in Butanyerera warn that they cannot endure this situation for much longer. They are urging the government to urgently revise coffee prices, otherwise they risk a massive disengagement of producers and a significant drop in national production.