Ethiopia is endowed with a rich variety of coffee and it is the home for Coffee Arabica. Country’s coffee beans as many agreed are known for their unique taste, flavor and aroma.
Though the country produces a range of distinctive Arabica coffees and has considerable potential to sell a large number of selections of specialty coffee, its gain is not at the desired level.
Dr. Adugna Debela Director General with the Ethiopian Tea and Coffee Authority said that though Ethiopia is known to be the producer of high quality coffee beans and is currently the fifth largest producer in the world, producers of the beans could not been gain the required benefit due to many reasons.
Price fluctuation at global market, illegal interference of brokers, failure in promoting the product and other internal hindering factors are few among the reasons.
To solve these challenges, the Authority has been undertaking promotion activities in different ways through creating conducive policy and strategy.
Currently, in Collaboration with the Feed the Future Ethiopia Value chain Activity, funded by USAID, is bringing Cup of Excellence competition to Ethiopia for the first time in the coming March, 2020.”
As to him, the competition enables the country to demonstrate the world its perfect climate, soil, altitude and microclimates that are convenient for growing coffee beans that have unique range of flavors.
He noted that the event will also promote the implementation of Ethiopia’s newly reformed policy aimed at creating more opportunities for farmers, suppliers, and exporters in the industry so that they can benefit from direct market linkage as it is open to all farmers engaged in the coffee sector, large and small cooperatives, unions and washing stations.
According to him, for the successful achievement of the event the authority will provide training for the competitors to enable them supply quality coffee.
Kidist Mulugeta under USAID Feed the Future Ethiopia Value Chain Activity Capacity Building Manager on her part said that Cup of Excellence is a major boon for the Ethiopian coffee industry, providing an international platform to promote Ethiopia’s coffee and creating new market opportunities for producers.
As to her, USAID manages the competition with developed methodologies for promoting new high quality specialty coffees.
She stressed that the competition benefits producers, roasters, exporters, coffee industries and the host country at large. Quality coffee producers are the primary beneficiaries of the competition as they can earn significant incomes through the auction.
She underscored that roasters and other major actors involved in the value chain also benefit because it brings much higher prices for their coffee and creates new market opportunities.
She noted that the event will attract global attention, providing Ethiopian coffee brands an opportunity to increase visibility among international media and other industry stakeholders.
According to her, the evaluation stage of Cup of Excellence competition will be conducted over three stages and first it will be evaluated by nationally qualified assessors and then by an international jurors composed of from 20 to 25 experienced drawn from around the world.
The Ethiopian Herald October 30, 2019
BY TAMERU REGASA
