Legend has it that coffee was first exported out of Ethiopia to Yemen by Somali merchants from Berbera. In addition, Mocha, which was the center of the coffee trade for much of the early modern era, obtained most of their coffee from Somali merchants based in Berbera.
That is why Ethiopia is proclaimed ‘the origin land of coffee’. From the very beginning that is why Ethiopia and its peoples are associated with coffee export and consumption.
Basically, Ethiopians drink coffee in all social occasions, for instance during family gatherings, festivities and times of mourning. And the demand for Ethiopian coffee both locally and internationally is increasing from time to time.
Coffee is the most vital foreign currency earner for Ethiopia’s economy. To ensure the quantity and quality of coffee exports, the government is working with strong commitment. It has also put in place a mechanism to checking and controlling exporters to make sure that they meet their contracts properly.
With this effort, in March 2019 alone, the government has banned 81 coffee exporters from trading with the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) because they failed to meet their contracts. This strict action has very critical and pivotal role in ensuring the quantity and quality of Ethiopian coffee exports.
Ethiopia, Africa’s top coffee producer, is expected to export a record-high 240,000 metric tons of coffee in 2019/20, as yields improve and the area dedicated to coffee farming increase, the U.S. Department of Agriculture attaché said.
Approached by The Ethiopian Herald, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Development Authority (ECTDA) said that the country has been producing a large amount of coffee every year but besides the quantity, what matters more is producing coffee that meets international standards.
Awgechew Teshome, Coffee, Tea, and Spices Development Deputy General Director said that the authority has been working to execute the plan that sets to export 240,000 metric tons of coffee in 2019/20.
To achieve and manage this, the authority is working with farmers, coffee exporters, development institutions and NGOs. Though achieving the export target is not a hard task, it needs close cooperation and commitment, high sense of responsibility and accountability from all actors in the coffee business as well as the government.
The authority was given training for concerned bodies at each level including farmers and coffee exporters. This has its own contributions for meeting the export target achievement. It has also been conducting a widespread campaign and assessment to raise the awareness of stakeholders on the coffee production focusing on quality and quantity matters, he added.
ECTDA also disclosed that it has been stumping and pruning coffee trees on 46,075 hectares of land to improve the national coffee product quality and quantity.
Berhanu Tsegaye, Coffee, Tea, and Spices Extension Director said that the task of stumping and pruning coffee trees have been undertaken on nearly nine million birr in collaboration with non-government organizations (NGOs) this year.
This was widely done in Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples state as well as Oromia region and it will stretch to other parts of the country Berhanu said.
As to him, the ECTDA has set document to control coffee marketing and quality standard at each level of the processes for the first time.
He also added that better performance was registered this year in pruning coffee trees. This was made possible because ECTDA has undertaken various sessions to create common understanding among actors in the coffee production industry. Similar activities have also been undertaken in stunning coffee trees that would have significant impact in improving coffee productivity.
ECTDA has also been working with Oromia Agricultural Research Institute to create a high-quality hybrid coffee. Currently, Ethiopia has 43 coffee types of coffee out of which seven are hybrid. The remaining 36 are specialty coffee.
The Authority is also planning to work with the institute in the future for more advanced hybridization. Berhanu also underlined that this trend will expand to other states’ Agricultural Research Institute to enhance coffee quality and quantity in scientific investigation and experiment.
Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA) says that while the government should take the highest responsibility, the national effort to improve the quality of coffee products needs the active involvement and collaboration of all stakeholders.
Accordingly, the production of coffee is expected to rise to 7.35 million tons in 2019/20, and 1.4% increase from the 2018/19 season, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture attaché report.
Exports account for just over half of overall production, and are forecast to grow 0.5% in 2019/20 from the previous year to reach 4 million 60-kg bags.
Supplies are greater this year due to better rains and the reduced prevalence of disease, the USDA’s forecasted yield of 0.82 tons per hectare comes in well below the government’s target of 1.1 tons per hectare.
Ethiopia has more than 400 coffee exporters, 395 coffee farmers who directly export coffee, and over 30 import-export companies who export coffee and use the foreign currency to import other materials like vehicles and construction inputs.
Ethiopia exports coffee to over 60 countries. Based on the coffee export data in 2017/18, the principal export markets for Ethiopian coffee were: Germany (22 %), Saudi Arabia (16 %), United States of America (11%), Belgium (7 %), Sudan (6 %) and Italy (5 %). While recently the US has become the second largest Ethiopian coffee export destination next to Saudi Arabia, according to the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Development Authority (ECTDA).
During the last 11 month America has purchased 20,221.73 metric tons of Ethiopian coffee which earned 106.3 USD foreign income exchange. This was achieved due to the strong promotion made by the authority in various part of the United States. Pertaining to main coffee destinations Saudi Arabia, America and Germany are now the leading countries.
Getachew Adimasu, Public Relations Officer at ECEA says that the Association has been continuously discussing the issue of quality, and national policy with exporters. In addition, it has also organized experience sharing platforms.
Traditional coffee production, budget limitation, lack of input, limited use of modern machinery, mixing of less quality coffee or other products with high-quality coffee, and absence of quality standard payment system and standardized stores have been challenging the national effort to improve the quality of coffee exports. The export reform and the campaign are expected to improve this situation and boost the country’s coffee export performance.
The Ethiopian Herald June 27, 2019
BY MULATU BELACHEW
