Overcoming Barriers for African export

I've just read an interesting article in the Economist about the challenges faced by the only African coffee company to export processed coffee to the UK. Here's a paragraph:

'Although Mr Rugasira pins part of the blame for his struggles on trade barriers against African products, he reserves much of his criticism for outdated attitudes to Africa in the West. When he first started pitching Good African coffee in Britain he ran into “50 years of prejudice”. His firm was founded in Uganda, which meant that when Mr Rugasira turned up at meetings “people were expecting Idi Amin”. People also “assumed we were trying a scam; assumed I was looking for handout; couldn’t believe there could be value added in Africa,” he recalls. “No one makes any distinction between older generations of African businessmen and the new generation.'

Africa makes great coffee. Java and Dormans are two good Kenyan brands. It's a shame that other African coffee producers haven't been able to break into the UK market yet. Let's hope that changes, and that any prejudices against this won't continue.