ADDIS ABABA – International Coffee Organization (ICO) Chief Economist Dr. Denis Seudieu said that increasing domestic coffee consumption in Africa is imperative to achieve a sustainable coffee industry and boost the income of coffee producers.
Launching domestic coffee consumption workshop here yesterday Dr. Denis said currently, coffee producers are experiencing low price in the market and it has a serious impact for farmers as the market is decided in the international arena.
The only way is, to make sure a system that provides and maintains a fair price to farmers. If the coffee price is volatile, the national markets can also be another opportunity for farmers, he indicated. Supporting the existing national domestic consumption strategy is key to increasing the local coffee market and financing the promotion of coffee consumption has also a catalytic tool to raise the market, he stressed.
Dr. Fred Kawuma, Secretary General of Inter-Africa Coffee Organization for his part said that Ethiopia is consuming more than half of its domestic coffee production in Africa. The price which the farmers receive in Ethiopia locally is higher than the prices that the international market pays. This is a model for African countries to take Ethiopia’s experience.
The promotion of domestic consumption of coffee in Africa has a great opportunity for inter-Africa trade. Producing countries had contributed to the domestic promotion. “It means our local economy is capable of providing a better return for farmers than the multinational who is to give a low price. These all are opportunities that we have to explore in the local market.”
According to Kawuma, the low level of African countries’ coffee consumption experience except Ethiopia can be linked to colonial history in Africa that colonial powers wanted Africa to export all its coffee to Europe not to consume locally. Dr. Adugna Debela, Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority General Director said that domestic coffee consumption is high between 2003 and 2017 which is more than 53 percent.
Coffee doesn’t only have an economic benefit to the country but also has its own social values. A quarter of the Ethiopian population is dependent on coffee sales directly or indirectly, he added.
Currently, Ethiopia is harvesting approximately 280,000 metric tons of coffee annually and is the fifth largest coffee producer next to Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia.
The Ethiopian Herald, July 4/2019
BY TSEGAYE TILAHUN
