By Hikma Temam
The Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority announced that the export of coffee, the nation’s flagship item, has just fetched over 571 million USD during the last six months of the budget year.
Authority Deputy Director General, Shafi Umer, told the Fana Broadcast Corporate (FBC) that the Authority has been working in collaboration with relevant bodies to boost the revenue generated by the sale of coffee Arabica to overseas market.
The production of coffee in the country takes place over 650,000ha of cultivated land.
Attention has been given on improving product quality, modernizing marketing chain and earning foreign currency, Umer pointed out.
Thus, over the past six months over 117,955 tons of coffee have been exported to various foreign countries, adding that the Authority will redouble efforts to ramp up supply in collaboration with stakes to help the nation reap more revenue from premium coffee.
Coffee is a linchpin of Ethiopia’s economy, accounting for over 30pc of its export earnings with the likes of Sidamo, Nekemte, Yerga Chife and Jimma being the major brands accounting for a surge in export trade.
Saudi Arabia, South Korea, America, Germany, Japan and China are the major markets for Ethiopian coffee. The Eastern African nation still holds on to its status of being the fifth-largest coffee producer and exporter in the world.//