Celebrating 200 years of coffee: Sri Lanka Coffee Festival returns to highlands for fourth edition

The Department of Export Agriculture (DEA), in collaboration with Australia’s Market Development  Facility (MDF), and the Lanka Coffee Association (LCA), successfully hosted the fourth-annual Sri Lanka Coffee Festival on 8 and 9 July in Kandy. 

The event celebrated 200 years of coffee in Sri Lanka with the DEA launching an official commemorative stamp. The event also announced an MoU between the DEA and Australia’s MDF to develop a ‘roadmap’ to further develop Sri Lanka’s emerging specialty coffee sector.

Sri Lanka’s coffee industry is making a comeback, with increasing production and demand, and this year’s Sri Lanka Coffee Festival was a testament to this transformation. Held for the fourth-consecutive year, the festival celebrated 200 years of Sri Lanka’s rich coffee-growing heritage. The festival was attended by coffee farmers, roasters, retailers, coffee enthusiasts and other key stakeholders.

This year’s festival marked a new chapter in public-private collaboration, as the DEA merged its annual Coffee Day celebrations with the LCA-MDF flagship event, the LCA Sri Lanka Coffee Festival.

Agriculture Department Director General Dr. Thushara Wickramarachchi, Central Province Governor Prof. Sarath Abeykoon, and several other State stakeholders were Guests of Honour at the festival, and reflected growing Government interest in the sector’s revival. 

DEA Director General Damayanthi Samarasinghe stated that, “Sri Lanka’s coffee sector is at a pivotal moment, and the DEA is proud to be at the forefront of its revitalisation. As coffee has become a priority crop, supporting the Coffee Festival reflects our commitment to restoring its place as a globally recognised export. Through this partnership, with MDF and the LCA we aim to expand high-quality production and develop a national roadmap that will help us unlock new trade and investment opportunities, including stronger linkages with markets like Australia.”

The DEA and MDF also announced their new MoU at the festival, highlighting its key aim of developing a roadmap for the sector. The roadmap will outline the current status of the market, identify gaps and highlight key action points. MDF will also work with the DEA to improve the quality of coffee processing, conduct sector-relevant training and share MDF developed training modules with farmers and processors.

Australian Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Lalita Kapur, was also a Chief Guest and shared that, “Australia has been a committed supporter of Sri Lanka’s coffee journey since 2017 through MDF. It’s been a long but rewarding road and we’re so pleased see the sector gaining greater recognition with each passing year. The Australian Government is proud to support Sri Lanka in its goal to increase inclusive economic growth. Sectors such as this one have demonstrated the value of increasing private sector investment, which in turn, as exports have increased, have helped Sri Lanka strengthen its foreign exchange earnings. Now in its fourth year, we’re delighted to see the Sri Lanka Coffee Festival continue to grow and even more pleased to have the Department of Export Agriculture come onboard to support this celebration of local coffee, connection and opportunity.”

The festival included interactive panel discussions, launching an official commemorative stamp marking 200 years of coffee cultivation, hands-on barista training and live demonstrations of brewing techniques by experts. The DEA also gave out prizes for several categories including Best Farmer and Best Processor and awarded the winners of a coffee art competition for schoolchildren.

Festival participants also had the chance to savour the island’s best brews at a special coffee tasting expo, featuring a variety of locally grown specialty coffee.

LCA Chairperson Kushan Samararatne stated, “The coffee festival this year marks another milestone for the coffee industry in Sri-Lanka with the DEA, partnering with the LCA and MDF to co- host the event. One of the main objectives of forming the association four years ago was to unify the sector and align the activities of all stakeholders to a common path to ensure the most effective and efficient development of the sector; this combination proves how far we have come as an industry in a short period of time.” He added that coffee culture is on the rise and explained that Sri Lanka is emerging as a serious specialty coffee growing nation.

The event was supported by Colombo Coffee Company as Gold Sponsor and Hatton National Bank as the official Banking Partner, reinforcing growing commercial interest in the sector.