Many traders buy African coffee and cocoa through a chain of agents they have never met. We chose a different route. In Beni, North Kivu, MD Trade has its own office on Boulevard Nyamwisi, and its own representative: Elvis.
Why Beni
Beni sits in one of the most productive farming areas of eastern DR Congo. Smallholders around the town and across Kivu grow cocoa and both Robusta and Arabica coffee, often on plots of one or two hectares. The region also borders Uganda, which makes it a natural crossroads for East African logistics towards Kampala and the port of Dar es Salaam.
It is also a region where conditions can change quickly. Roads, security and weather all affect when coffee and cocoa can move. Having someone there every day is the only way to know what is really happening.
What Elvis does
- Visits farms and cooperatives across Kivu to select coffee and cocoa and to build long-term supply relationships.
- Checks quality before we commit to a lot, and follows it through drying, sorting and bagging.
- Collects the origin and plot information we need for traceability and for the EU Deforestation Regulation.
- Is the first point of contact for suppliers and partners in the DRC, and our eyes on the road between farm and export.
Every working morning he receives the same cocoa and coffee market briefing as our trading desk in Wijnegem, so conversations with farmers and cooperatives start from the same prices and the same news.
Speaking the language of the farm
Trust at origin starts with language. Elvis speaks Swahili, French and English, and also Mashi, Kifuliiru, Lingala, Kihavu and Kitabwa. That means he can talk to a cooperative leader in Bukavu, a farmer near the Ugandan border or a trucker heading to Kampala in their own language.
What it means for our buyers
For roasters, importers and processors, a team at origin translates into fewer surprises: lots that match their samples, origin data that matches the bags, and early warning when weather, roads or politics affect a shipment. It also means part of the value stays in the region, through direct relationships with the people who grow the crop.
Elvis can be reached at elvis@mdtrade.eu. Trade buyers who want to see the lots he helps source can request access to the MD Trade Market.