ADDIS ABABA – The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority disclosed that promotional and capacity building activities are well underway to improve quality coffee production and increase export revenue.
Approached by the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA), Authority Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mohammed Shemsu stated that the nation has put emphasis on promotional activities in business-to-business and business-to-government conventions in the global arena.
Accordingly, he said, the authority is striving to utilize crucial platforms such as Cup of Excellence, Women in Coffee Conventions, African Fine Coffee Association to promote Ethiopia’s coffee product to the global market.
“Our coffee products reach close to 70 countries of potential buyers in the condition of variability,” he noted.
The CEO said, “Currently, our products with varieties of flavors are penetrating to East Asian, Arabian countries of which China and Korea are at the forefront. Similarly, we are streamlining an online market platform with some specialty coffees in the global market.”
The authority also engaged in organizing various events since renewing and rebranding coffee species are the major focus areas of the sector, he indicated.
Besides, it has graduated students taking short and long term trainings in two rounds in its center which is the first in East Africa for being equipped with state-of-the-art technologies of brewing and roasting, and sensory laboratories among other facilities, he mentioned.
The center has been nurturing professionals equipped with international knowledge and skills in post-harvest activities such as coffee cupping, grading, roasting, grinding, brewing, and packaging and marketing, according to Mohammed.
Moreover, universities situated in coffee growing areas are delivering trainings with the aim of supporting the private sector and creating decent jobs, he stated.
“We are working to expand coffee export centers thereby launching processing and inspection centers dawn to Jimma and Hawassa cities in a bid to facilitate a direct export of the commodity,” he remarked.
The expansion of coffee inspection and export terminals in the country halts the occurrence of inconveniences during transportation and transaction periods, he added.
Citing that coffee takes the highest shares in the agriculture sector, the CEO called on the government and other stakeholders to practice and ensure healthy market competition by tackling contraband and any illegal trading.
Mohammed point out that multifaceted initiatives are being implemented to enhance coffee production through expanding cluster and irrigation farming by taking lesson Honduras and Brazil.
The authority has been announced that efforts are well underway to generate over 1.7 billion USD from 350,000 tons of coffee export this Ethiopian fiscal year.
BY ASHENAFI ANIMUT
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 4 OCTOBER 2023
