Crop calendar
Rwanda Coffee Crop Calendar
Flowering, cherry development, harvest, processing, milling and the realistic export window for Rwanda — split by region, because a single national figure hides the variation that determines when a shipment is possible.
Cycle summary
- Crop year
- Crop year commonly quoted April–March
- Harvest
- March–July, with the peak in April and May
- Export window
- June–December
- Species
- Arabica
- Altitude
- 1,400–2,000 m
- Ports
- Mombasa (Northern Corridor), Dar es Salaam (Central Corridor)
Calendars
1 regional cycle
Each calendar covers one growing area or one crop cycle. Where a country runs more than one, they are shown separately rather than averaged.
National — washing station cycle
Crop year commonly quoted April–March
Stage
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Flowering
Cherry development
HarvestPeak April–May
Processing & drying
Dry milling & grading
Main export window
- Flowering: Sep–Nov
- Cherry development: Nov–Mar
- Harvest: Mar–Jul. Peak April–May
- Processing & drying: Mar–Aug
- Dry milling & grading: Jun–Oct
- Main export window: Jun–Dec
Higher stations around Nyamagabe and Nyaruguru run several weeks behind the Kivu shore.
These are typical ranges
Harvest timing shifts year to year with rainfall, and within a country with altitude and aspect. Treat these as planning ranges rather than as fixed dates, and confirm the position for the specific crop when a shipment window is being agreed.
Regions
Regional harvest timing
Which areas pick when, and what that means for the separations available at each point in the season.
| Region | Altitude | Species | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Kivu — Rutsiro, Karongi, Nyamasheke, Rusizi | 1,450–1,900 m | Arabica | March–June |
| Huye & Nyamagabe | 1,600–2,000 m | Arabica | April–July |
| Gakenke & Rulindo | 1,500–1,900 m | Arabica | March–June |
Keep reading
Planning a shipment
- Coffee Crop YearWhat a coffee crop year is, why the convention differs between origins, and why "current crop" should never appear alone in a contract.
- Current Crop vs Past CropWhat distinguishes current crop from past crop green coffee, why storage matters more than age, how to recognise the difference, and how to contract around it.
- Green Coffee ShippingHow green coffee moves from East African origins to destination: corridors, ports, transit time drivers, cargo protection and what to check on arrival.
- Rwanda Green CoffeeRwandan green coffee: Bourbon-dominant washed Arabica traceable to individual coffee washing stations, with regional profiles, harvest timing and buyer guidance.
- Container Loading for Green CoffeeHow many bags of green coffee fit in a 20ft or 40ft container — and why the honest answer is a calculation, not a number. Payload limits and stow patterns.
- Current AvailabilityCurrent crop availability by origin, species, process and grade.