Ethiopian Coffee Exports Record Comparative Increase

The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority today published details of coffee exports. Ethiopia earned $835.23 million from exporting coffee in the first nine months of the 2016 fiscal year by exporting 174,596 tons of coffee.

The Deputy Director General, Mr. Shafi Umer said that the income from coffee exports in these nine months was higher than last year. He mentioned that they made improvements in different areas to increase their earnings from coffee production.

He further said that due to reforms, the income from coffee production has reached over a billion dollars. Last year, they earned more than $1.33 billion. They are aiming for $1.75 billion this year. Challenges like the drop in coffee prices globally and issues at the Red Sea port affected the coffee trade this year.

Last month, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) issued a new directive outlining that foreign investors can engage in specific trade investments. The new directive allows foreign Investors’ participation in previously reserved businesses including export, import, wholesale, and retail trade investments. The foreigners can now buy coffee directly from Ethiopian farmers.

Countries like the United Arab Emirates, Sudan, and China, which were not top buyers of Ethiopian coffee before, are now becoming significant buyers. Within nine months, China has become the 7th largest buyer, Sudan the 8th, and the United Arab Emirates the 9th.

Interestingly last month Sailamariam Gebremidin, Public Relations and Communications Executive for the authority said that Ethiopia could not achieve the target of $1.2 billion export earning for which it was required to export 240,000 tons of coffee. But it managed to export 175,000 tons.

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