DRC coffee and cocoa producers, once among the world's biggest exporters, have set out a plan to regain their status as global players, with a new National Roadmap for the industry.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), once a major exporter of coffee and cocoa, has all the potential to reclaim its position as a global player. However, without adequate support for cocoa and coffee producers, breaking into international markets remains very difficult. That’s why, with the United Kingdom Trade Partnerships (UKTP) programme, the country is strengthening its coffee and cocoa businesses by adopting a National Roadmap to grow them.
A public-private delegation under the Ministry of Foreign Trade went to the United Kingdom to review best practices in trade facilitation for cocoa and coffee, focusing on governance and inter-agency coordination, with a push toward digital procedures and risk management.
In Kinshasa, these findings helped align the four pillars of the National Roadmap. On 12 March, following the public-private consultations on 9 and 10 March, the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) looked at how to improve production and storage capacity, logistics and transport, standards alignment, quality control and market access.
These efforts highlight the potential of these industries for the Democratic Republic of Congo and were made possible with the support of HM Revenue & Customs, The Chartered Institute of Export & International Trade, Hutchison Ports (UK), Department for Business and Trade, International Coffee Organization, British Coffee Association, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the NTFC.
12 March 2026, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo – Following the public-private consultations on the new roadmap for coffee and cocoa, the National Trade Facilitation Committee (NTFC) looked at how to improve production and storage capacity, logistics and transport, standards alignment, quality control and market access.Photo by ITC
About the United Kingdom Trade Partnerships (UKTP) Programme
UKTP is implemented by the International Trade Centre or ITC, and funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. ITC is the joint trade and development agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. It supports small and medium-sized enterprises to trade internationally and attract investment. UKTP aims to increase trade from developing countries to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) by maximizing the benefits of UK and EU Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) and the UK's Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS).
UKTP implements various trade promotion and capacity building activities around the world at different stages of the value chain. UKTP works in partnership with government agencies, private sector organizations, public sector institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises and other local stakeholders.