In Rwanda, as in most coffee producing regions in East Africa, the farmgate price represents the sale of coffee cherries to a central wet mill or washing station. For consistency within these graphs we have listed this as a green bean/USD kg equivalent amount. Data is based on an average yield of cherry to green coffee of 17%.

Once the cherry is received, it is sorted and processed at the wet mill, which is operated and managed by Muraho Trading Co, our export partner in Rwanda. These processing costs cover the transformation from cherry to parchment , and mostly represent the wages paid to the staff of the station. The staff are almost always also coffee producers themselves, who sell their coffee to the station alongside working there seasonally.

A portion of the costs per kg, on average $1.21, goes toward investment in community development and assets. Examples of these value adds include the distribution of fertilisers and pesticides, delivery of seedlings, training in agricultural practices and loans to assist families with the payment of school fees.