ADDIS ABABA- Ethiopia has secured some 836 million USD from the export of 175,000 tons of coffee during the past nine months of the current fiscal year, the Coffee and Tea Authority announced.
Authority’s Public Relations and Communications Executive Sailamariam Gebremidin told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that a plan was set to earn 1.2 billion USD from the export of 240 tons of coffee for the reported period.
Sailamariam also stated that Ethiopia has situated as the fifth largest coffee producer and ninth largest coffee exporter globally. Ethiopian Arabica Coffee is unique in the world in its taste and highly desirable in the global market.
However, for many years, neither the country nor coffee producers have been getting the benefits they deserve from the commodity due to various reasons. Limited ability to provide value added products and the prolonged coffee market chain are among the major setbacks in the sector, he added.
Apart from the plan to shorten the market chain, over 500 farmers have begun directly exporting coffee to the domestic and foreign markets.
“Previously, coffee farmers could not determine the price of their products but accepted the price set by brokers and traders. To avoid this, strategic activity has been carried out to educate farmers and encourage them to bring their products directly to the global market.”
According to the executive, the Cup of Excellence program has been organized to enable coffee producers who produce quality coffee to sell their products at better prices.
Saudi Arabia, South Korea, U.S., Belgium, Japan, Germany, China, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Italy are the leading destinations for Ethiopia’s coffee export respectively.
BY TAMERU REGASA
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SATURDAY 27 APRIL 2024
