BY DARGIE KAHSAY
According to historical records, Ethiopia is the origin of Coffee. Not only is the origin of coffee but also Ethiopia is among the top countries in the world in coverage of coffee plants. This shows that encouraging the development of organic and specialty coffee is paying back economically, too.
The role of coffee in Ethiopia is not only limited to the economy; the coffee ceremony is a social bond in a society which strengthens the social relations both within a family and in society. In Ethiopia, Coffee is the backbone of millions of households both in generating income and also strengthening social bonds through its ceremony.
Ethiopia’s coffee productivity, export amount and foreign currency earnings from the sector are also increasing from year to year. The country’s export earnings for the first time in history exceed one billion US Dollars during the 2021/22 budget year. As the main producer and exporter of coffee to the international market, Ethiopia started an annual Cup of Excellency competition by inviting all producers, exporters and processors to participate in the competition.
During the 2022’s special coffee flavor, Cup of Excellency, competition, Ethiopia’s coffee ranked first in its quality, Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) announced last week. In this year’s Cup of Excellency Competition, one kilogram of Ethiopian Coffee has sold USD 884.10 or 47 thousand and 236 Ethiopian birr, ECTA added.
CEO of ECTA, Adugna Debela (PhD) said after the event that the third round of Ethiopia’s Cup of Excellency competition was concluded successfully, adding “Ethiopian coffee wins again and our farmers are winning and becoming Ethiopia’s pride.” For him, this year’s cup of Excellency competition winner coffee breaks a record price. One kilogram of the winner coffee was sold at 884.10 USD after an international online bid, he mentioned. This price, according to the CEO “is the highest price for one kilogram of Ethiopian coffee in history.”
This price for one kilogram of coffee indicates that Ethiopia’s coffee, which is known for its unique flavor, is becoming the best choice in the international market. Parallel to giving due attention to increasing the coverage and productivity of the coffee plant in the country plus the volume of its export amount, Ethiopia is giving due attention to exporting value-added and competitive quality coffee products to the international market. The quality of the products that win the Cup of Excellency competition is an indication that the Ethiopian coffee quality is becoming growing fast.
This is an additional blessing for Ethiopia, the largest producer and exporter of coffee from the African continent and among the top five producer countries of the world. The largest producer and exporter of coffee in Africa, Ethiopia’s coffee covers the largest share of the country’s export and generates nearly 30 % of its export income and about 70 % of the agricultural sector export earnings.
In addition to being a major backbone of the country’s general export earnings, coffee is a source of livelihood for over 15 million people in Ethiopia. The local coffee market is also among the top markets throughout the country.
Considering this in mind, Ethiopia gives due attention to increasing the coverage of this cash crop by planting new billions of seedlings and exporting value-added products by increasing the quality of this internationally known flavored coffee. The name, Ethiopian coffee, by itself is a brand and Ethiopia is working to maximize the quality of this known brand of coffee. Promoting the best quality and flavored coffee through Cup of Excellency competition is among the efforts of the country to maximize both quality and price for the coffee on the international market.
Ethiopia during its national Green Legacy initiative campaign gives due attention to plantations of cash-crop products. Coffee takes the largest share during the four-year first-round Green legacy initiative. Billions of coffee trees were planted during the past four years as the country aims to increase the coverage of coffee parallel to planting seedlings for forest coverage purposes. The coffee plantation investment in addition to increasing coverage of cash crops for income purposes helps to increase the forests and biodiversity of the area.
Adugna recently told a local media that only during the fourth year of the Green Legacy initiative this year, Oromia State has planted over 1.8 billion coffee seedlings. Similarly, Southern Nations and Nationalities, Sidama and South Western Ethiopia states have also planted a huge amount of coffee seedlings. By increasing the productivity and export both in amount and quality, Ethiopia’s this year’s export earnings exceed one billion USD, according to the authority.
CEO of ECTA stated that the authority has distributed over 12 kilograms of coffee for the seedling plantation only for this plantation season. Hence, in increasing the coverage of the plant, Ethiopia invests too much in the sector. Similarly, the authority gives due focus to increasing the quality of Ethiopian coffee by supporting the producers and every process.
By doing so, Ethiopia is working to increase its earnings from the sector and become the best competitor in the international market. By capitalizing on the available opportunities and comparative advantages, ECTA plans to increase the earnings from the export of coffee to 1.8 billion USD during the 2022/23 budget year, according to Adugna. “The investment in planting new coffee seedlings during the Green Legacy initiative was successful in increasing the coverage of the main cash crop,” he said adding that “by increasing the efforts in the quality, the authority is working to maximize the country’s earnings from the sector.”
Ethiopia is an ideal environment for coffee production due to its altitude, temperature, rainfall and natural soil and so far most of its coffee products come from naturally growing coffee. Hence, using these comparative advantages, Ethiopia increases its investment in the sector both in quantity and quality to maximize the sector’s production and productivity.
Now, Ethiopia turns its face to increasing the quality and value-adding export by promoting and supporting coffee producers and processors. Cup of Excellency competition aims both at increasing and promoting the quality of coffee by creating a platform for preparing the best quality coffee and providing the winning coffee to the international market.
Coffee Geography Magazine reported that Ethiopia’s 2022 Cup of Excellency result is a record with a staggering USD 400 per pound or 884.10 USD per kilogram. “This is the highest price ever recorded for the country,” the Magazine added.
Adugna thanked all the stakeholders, farmers, Producers, Members of the Steering Committee for the event, the Alliance for Coffee Excellence team and other stakeholders who contributed their share for the success of the tasting and selecting program of the competition.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 28 AUGUST 2022
