When it comes to the flavor of organic coffee, Ethiopia stands tall in the crowd as the cradleland of this green emerald.
There is no gainsaying the aforementioned fact as the bean itself got its name after one of the country’s province called Keffa, where the stimulant plant was first singled out profusely sprouting. Ethiopia’s time-old traditional, original and peculiar coffee preparation and drinking ceremony collaborates the above claim.
Also, in Ethiopia, coffee is taken a socializing agent. It was because the go-betweens were Arab merchants that Ethiopia’s coffee is referred to coffee Arabica.Traders on the global arena know full well this fact. As such they accord preferential treatment to Ethiopia’s coffee.
This fact notwithstanding, the country has not yet derived the right amount of financial bonanza it is entitled to from the export of this natural gift.
Applying natural composts and traditional fertilizers it is possible to maintain the natural flavor of this organic coffee. This way outshining in the global market and winning potential clients to the country’s fold is in the domain of possibility.
In cognizance of this fact, there is a call for stepping up the export volume of coffee thereby increasing the hard currency the country garners. Towards this end, the nation is expected to apply technology on the coffee chain.
As a motivational factor, there is a call for making coffee-growers beneficiaries of their labor. Seeing to the aforementioned facts, it is possible to scale new heights when it comes to the role coffee plays in reinforcing the country’s economy.
Identifying major as well as potential importers of Ethiopia’s coffee and clicking with them pays. Also, conducting an extensive deliberation on the policy directions of the coffee sector is mandatory.
Here, it must be noted that it is exigent to do away with the negative impacts illegal coffee brokers could create on the country’s coffee market and income.
The role the coffee industry plays in creating job opportunities to youths is immense. The coming into being of Ethiopia’s commodity exchange ECX that facilitates and streamlines export commodities’ transaction has played a pivotal role in combing out illegal brokers that pose logjams in the country’s coffee industry.
As the country has come up with industrial parks, some housing agro-industries, exporting coffee with value-addition is wise. Tragically our supermarkets are rife with bottled powder coffees imported from abroad. These commodities are being imported by hard currency, the dearth of which is assailing the country. Rather, the country could generate hard currency if it manages to come up with value-added products of its own that have quality as their hallmark.
As recent reports indicate, happily, the foreign currency return the country earns from new export commodities like chick beans and soybean is increasing by the day as the demand for the same is ever growing drawing attention from different corners of the world.
The role Ethiopian Export Commodity Exchange (ECX) plays in ensuring quality, a decisive leverage to penetrate the global market, and in regulating market price is commendable. Hence, it deserves laudation for the exhibited turnaround in foreign currency return.
Aside from this, ECX is also helping the nation collect its proper due tax from the trade exchange of agricultural yields. The latter was an outmoded one, which used to leave the door ajar for tax evasion.
Sensitizing farmers and actors on the value-chain to come up with yields that more than meet international standards and satisfies volume of demand pays.
The e-auction introduced by ECX towards modernizing the market system is also appreciable.
The Ethiopian Herald July 21/2019
