The coffee market and its value chain have been a major headache for the growers as well as exporters all over the country seeing that the coffee sector has been mired by lack of quality, insufficient quantity and illegal trade practices.
In fact, after the establishment of Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority quite a lot of reforms and policy strategies have been developed.
Sintayehu Girma Public Relations and Commu- nication Director at the Authority of Ethiopian Coffee and Tea authority so told The Ethiopian Herald.
In conjunction with National Export Council, he stressed that the authority was formed to carry out consultations with stakeh-olders with a view to increasing the volume of Ethiopian exports and identifying major bottlenecks of the coffee market and pointing out major challenges of the coffee value chain in addition to suggesting the reform as a way-out.
He further stressed that one of the identified bottlenecks in the coffee sector is long coffee value chain. The longer the value chain, the less farmers make a profit. Therefore, the government has made a reform to shorten the value chain. The reform attaches significance to giving coffee farmers the chance to directly sell their products to an international market. This opportunity helps farmers make a better profit apart from motivating them produce more coffee cherries, Ethiopian green emeralds.
He continued, “The reform that is applied recently has significant importance in the coffee export sector. All stakeholders have gained legal ground to play their respective roles. Moreover, the amendment has boosted stakeholders’ confidence apart from broadening the chance to export quality coffee in return to foreign exchange. Likewise, farmers who possess a minimum of two and above hectares of coffee plantation have the right to export directly/without any intermediaries. For example in 2017 coffee producers had exported 11,857.35 tons of coffee and earned 63.08 million US dollar. Similarly, in 2018 they had exported 13,736.97 tons of coffee and earned 67.33 million US dollar. Price per ton was 5,320.27 in 2017 and 4,901.12 in 2018. It has 8% shares from the total volume.
The unions had exported 22,525.33 tons of coffee and earned 115.76 million US dollar in 2017. In 2018 they exported 20,118.57 tons and earned 105.90 million US dollar. Price per ton was 5,139.25 in 2009 and 5,263.72 in 2018. There is a 13% shares from the total volume. Similarly commercial exporters exported 191,284.98 tons of coffee and earned 703.63 million US dollar in 2017. In 2018, they exported 204,610.00 tons and earned 664.93 million US dollar. Price per ton was 3,678.42 in 2017 and 3,249.73 in 2018. So that they have about 80% share from the total volume for the last two years.
He added, “In general, the total coffee production in 2017 was 414,910 ton. The same budget year Ethiopia exported 225,494 tons of coffee and earned 882,000 thousand U.S dollar. In 2018, the country exported 238,465.55 tons of coffee and earned 838 thousand U.S dollar. This figure expected to tumble down this budget year as the price of coffee has fallen down in the global market.
He concluded that Ethiopia has developed new coffee varieties such as frost, drought and pest resistant varieties based on research. Furthermore, using irrigation and implementing-climate-resilient economy and expanding coffee production to the regions, which are not familiar to coffee production, are entailed in the new strategy to increase the country’s coffee production.
The Ethiopian Herald Sunday June 9, 2019
BY ADDISALEM MULAT
