Rwandan coffee has earned international recognition after winning six awards at the 2026 ASEAN Coffee Excellence Awards (ACEA), a competition that brought together coffee producers from different countries around the world.
Of the 10 Rwandan coffee entries submitted to the competition, six received awards, including three Platinum and three Gold honours.
The Platinum awards were given to coffees that scored 90% or higher, while the Gold awards went to those scoring between 80% and 89%.
The achievement further reinforces Rwanda’s reputation as a producer of high-quality coffee, particularly in the specialty coffee category, which continues to gain popularity in international markets.
Coffee remains one of Rwanda’s leading foreign exchange earners, with the government seeking to further increase export revenues from the sector.
In 2025, Rwanda exported 23,860 tonnes of unroasted coffee, generating $148.6 million, up from $89.8 million in 2024. This represented a 65% increase and marked the highest annual export earnings in the history of Rwanda’s coffee trade.
Rwanda aims to increase coffee exports to 32,000 tonnes by 2029, generating more than $192 million in revenue.
