A partnership between Kahawatte Plantations PLC and Australia’s Market Development Facility to develop a modern coffee processing centre and a smallholder farmer network

 NAWALAPITIYA, Sri Lanka –  Kahawatte Plantations PLC (KWPL), a Regional Plantation Company operating across the landscapes of Nawalapitiya and Sabaragamuwa, together with the Market Development Facility (MDF), an Australian multi-country initiative, have completed a new Coffee Processing Centre and Smallholder Farmer Network, a joint investment aimed at lifting the quality, value and market reach of Sri Lankan coffee. Both the Coffee Processing Centre and Smallholder Farmer Network mark Kahawatte’s move into building a specialty coffee business alongside its established tea, rubber and cinnamon operations.

Kahawatte, which has diversified into cinnamon, already have 1,000 acres of this crop on its estates. Forty acres of coffee too has been established and produce of 169 neighbouring smallholder with 12.5 acres under coffee is purchased by the processing centre.

Strengthening coffee processing capacity is a vital step towards unlocking Sri Lanka’s growing potential in specialty coffee and expanding access to high-value international markets. Against this backdrop, Kahawatte Plantations PLC hosted a visit to its coffee operations at Craighead Estate, Nawalapitiya, bringing together the Australian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, H.E. Matthew Duckworth, Australia’s Market Development Facility (MDF) Sri Lanka Country Director, Maryam Piracha, and the MDF team, to tour the company’s coffee processing centre and its Department of Export Agriculture award-winning coffee field.

Launching of the new Coffee Processing Centre at Kahawatte Plantation, with Market Development Facility supporting efforts to strengthen Sri Lanka’s emerging coffee industry and boost value-added exports

Speaking during the visit, High Commissioner Duckworth emphasized how investments and initiatives of this kind support the local community, strengthen the industry, and contribute to the wider economy of the country.

The processing centre is now fully commissioned, equipped with a disk pulper and washer, an African huller, a flat-deck grader and a gravity separator, together with a newly built 1,000-square-foot drying house. During the visit, the delegation toured the award-winning coffee block and the processing centre, where KWPL representatives held an insightful discussion on the sustainable agronomic practices followed in the estate’s coffee cultivation, and on the company’s plans to further improve the quality of the coffee produced through the integration of new technology and a modern processing facility developed together with the support of smallholder farmers in the area.

The initiative reflects the partnership’s shared ambition of building sustainable livelihoods for coffee-growing communities while establishing Sri Lankan coffee in specialty markets worldwide – from the country’s highlands to premium cups, grown together with local farmers.

The network already supports 169 smallholder farming families, surpassing its initial target of over 100 growers. KWPL and MDF plan to expand the network to 500 smallholder farmers by 2030, while working toward exporting premium green beans to specialty markets, including Australia, and roasting coffee in-house for premium business and consumer markets in Sri Lanka.

A representative of the smallholder farmers shared how growers in the area have already benefited from the project, receiving quality planting materials provided through the support of the MJF Charitable Foundation, along with extension support through the project. He further expressed confidence that participating farmers will gain further in the future through improved quality and better prices for their coffee.

Looking ahead, the partners aim to export premium green beans to specialty markets, including Australia, and to roast coffee in-house for premium business and consumer markets in Sri Lanka. Together, this partnership aims to strengthen coffee quality and create a more reliable supply of high-quality beans, creating more opportunities for businesses and smallholder farmers alike. (Kahawatte Plantations news release)