OREANDA-NEWS. Nespresso has launched South Sudan’s first ever export coffee and its first significant non-oil export in a generation, after working to help rebuild the nation’s coffee industry that was destroyed by conflict.

Suluja ti South Sudan coffee capsules will initially be sold to Nespresso Club Members in France in extremely limited volumes, and the brand does not expect to make a return on the coffee for several years, until production levels increase.

The South Sudan initiative is based on the Nespresso AAA Sustainable Quality Program, and since 2011, the brand and non-profit organisation TechnoServe have worked with 500 local farmers in the country to revive coffee production. Nespresso has already invested over CHF 700,000 in the Yei region, and plans to invest CHF 2.5 million to support several thousand farmers over the next few years.

Nestle Nespresso CEO Jean-Marc Duvoisin said that Nespresso wants to source the highest quality coffee globally, and build a more environmentally sustainable and financially equitable outcome for farmers.

"Suluja ti South Sudan is an exceptional coffee, and we’re very proud of the positive impact this project is having on farmers and their families,” he said. “Together with the coffee farmers in Yei and TechnoServe we are excited about the potential of this project for economic growth in the region.”