What Tanzania can learn from Indonesia’s $2.5 billion coffee industry

Tanzania could earn more from coffee by expanding domestic consumption and processing as Indonesia’s exports reached a record $2.51 billion in 2025, highlighting the commercial opportunities available beyond selling raw beans. Indonesia’s coffee exports rose 53.2 per cent in value from 2024 to $2.51 billion, equivalent to 510,759 tonnes, according to the Indonesian Ministry of Trade. Tanzania earned $269.3 million from coffee exports in the year ending August 2026, according to recent Bank of Tanzania figures. The opportunity was highlighted during Trade Expo Indonesia 2026, where Tanzanian coffee entrepreneur Mr Muntazir Hussein said Indonesia’s approach to consuming its own coffee had given him ideas for developing Tanzania’s domestic market. “What I have personally learned is how they love their own coffee and how they have grown their coffee and consume their coffee,” said Mr Hussein, chief executive of Kaffé Koffee. Mr Hussein, who is also a board member of the Tanzania Coffee Board, said between 85 and 90 per cent of Tanzania’s coffee was exported, while domestic consumption stood at about seven per cent. The country was targeting an increase to approximately 15 percent. The figures point to an opportunity to expand the market for locally roasted, packaged and branded coffee, creating additional business opportunities beyond the sale of beans to international buyers. Indonesia’s experience shows the scale that domestic demand can reach alongside exports. The US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service estimated domestic consumption at 4.8 million 60-kilogramme bags in the 2025/26 marketing year, supported by demand from roasters and processors. The USDA also reported that street vendors and mobile sellers were helping reach urban workers and lower-income consumers with affordable coffee products, while some consumers were switching to less expensive blends amid higher bean prices. For Tanzania, the lesson is that growing domestic consumption does not have to rely exclusively on premium cafés. Affordable products, convenient distribution and stronger promotion of locally produced coffee could help attract consumers who do not regularly drink it. Mr Hussein’s business illustrates one way of building that market. Kaffé Koffee operates 16 coffee shops across Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and Arusha, alongside two rotisseries and a coffee farm in Njombe, where it also grows avocados. The business spans farming and consumer-facing outlets, giving it opportunities to participate at different stages of the value chain. Processing and branding create value Indonesia’s export growth has been accompanied by efforts to promote quality, traceability, sustainability and compliance with destination-market requirements, according to its Ministry of Trade. The ministry has highlighted these factors as important to building buyer confidence and strengthening the competitiveness of Indonesian coffee. At Trade Expo Indonesia 2026, organisers also created a dedicated coffee, tea and cocoa zone to connect international buyers with Indonesian businesses and products from different producing regions. At the expo’s sideline Indonesian Ambassador to Tanzania Tri Yogo Jatmiko urged businesses to explore both export and sourcing opportunities, saying Tanzania and neighbouring countries could supply agricultural products and commodities to the Indonesian market. “Trade should be a two-way street. Indonesia should not only explore what it can sell to Africa, but also what it can buy from the region,” he said. He encouraged participants to use the forum to identify potential partners and develop concrete commercial relationships, stressing that the success of the engagement should ultimately be measured by the transactions and partnerships that follow. For Tanzania’s coffee industry, that means combining efforts to increase local consumption and retain more value through processing with continued efforts to access international markets. The opportunity is not simply to export more beans, but to build a broader industry in which farmers, processors, retailers and exporters can all capture more value.