Luanda: Angola raised, in 2025, a total of 12 million US dollars from the export of 3,288 tons of commercial coffee, the general director of the National Coffee Institute (INCA), Vasco Gon§alves said on Monday, in Luanda. In statements to the press, on the sidelines of the European Union Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products (EUDR) workshop, in a brief review of the last year's economic performance, the official revealed that the country's overall commercial coffee production reached approximately 10,500 tons.
According to Angola Press News Agency, Vasco Gon§alves emphasized that, although the current figures are still below Angola's edaphoclimatic capabilities, the country is following a path of sustainable growth. 'We are producing coffee according to our current interests and not to respond to past circumstances, in a production that is based on principles of freedom and national development,' he asserted.
From this perspective, the Director General of INCA reiterated Angola's growth potential and production areas, highlighting the 56,000 hectares of coffee planted, a figure that offers ample room for progression. He mentioned that the focus of the Angolan authorities is the recovery of old areas, which will allow increasing productivity without the need to deforest new forests.
Asked about the producing regions, Vasco Gon§alves pointed out the dominance of Robusta coffee in the provinces of Uge, Cuanza-Sul, Cuanza-Norte, Bengo and part of Malanje, while Arabica coffee production is concentrated in Benguela, Hula, Bi©, Huambo, with ongoing expansion to the East of the country. He highlighted that the family sector continues to be the basis of national production, but that the production of the dynamic business sector is growing rapidly, with emphasis on large-scale farms in Kibala (Cuanza-Sul) and Benguela, where there are already plantations exceeding 100 hectares.
However, he said that one of the biggest challenges is related to the quality of the product, arguing that the country is currently at the second level (BB), on a scale of seven categories, and it is necessary to improve harvesting and drying practices to achieve standards of international excellence. 'And to improve this classification we have to abandon practices such as spreading the coffee on the ground or harvesting the green berry, this work that involves producers, traders and exporters to avoid contamination and increase the market value', he warned.
Regarding EU regulations, he reaffirmed that coffee production in Angola is based on quality standards and international requirements. Specifically regarding the European Union's new requirements on the import of raw materials, the INCA director assured that the country is preparing itself through new legal instruments. He stated that, recently, the Council of Ministers approved regulations on Good Agricultural Practices and licensing of certifying companies.
According to Vasco Gon§alves, these measures aim to guarantee the traceability of coffee and ensure that production respects the environment and social standards. 'As our production is mainly concentrated in already established areas and not in deforested areas, we are in a good position to meet sustainability goals', he concluded.
On the same occasion, the traceability and trade expert at the European Research Institute, Edwin Gaarder, said that Europe's objective is to reduce the negative impact on the exploitation of forest resources, to slow down climate effects.
