Nespresso is suspending coffee import operations from South Sudan as the country faces growing civil unrest, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, October 5.
Jacquelyn Campo, a spokesperson for Nespresso, told The Journal that the company was forced to take action after an outbreak of violence in the Central Equatoria region in the southern portion of the African nation.
In July, there was four days of fighting between government forces and rebels in the capital, Juba. The fighting has now spread south and is now impacting the coffee-producing region, according to published reports.
As previously reported by homeworldbusiness.com, since 2011 Nespresso and TechnoServe— a development non-profit organization— have worked with farmers in South Sudan to revive high-quality coffee production. The company has invested more than $2.5 million as part of the project.
Earlier this year, Nespresso and TechnoServe teamed with USAID in an expanded effort related to boosting South Sudan’s coffee industry.
