Ethiopia earns 1 bln USD from coffee exports in 10 months

ADDIS ABABA, June 3 (Xinhua) -- The Ethiopian government on Monday disclosed that coffee exports over the past 10 months had brought the country 1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue.

The East African country exported 210,000 tons of coffee to the international market during the first 10 months of the current Ethiopian 2023/2024 fiscal year that started on July 8, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) said Monday.

The United States, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Japan and Belgium were among the top destinations of Ethiopia's coffee exports during the reported period, state-affiliated Fana Broadcasting Corporate quoted Adugna Debela, director-general of the ECTA, as saying.

According to Debela, the Ethiopian government has been able to create new markets in addition to the traditional Ethiopian coffee-importing countries.

In recent years, Ethiopia has seen growing potential in China's booming coffee market as China has become one of the top 10 importers of Ethiopian coffee.

During the previous Ethiopian 2022/2023 fiscal year, the East African country earned 1.3 billion dollars in revenue from the export of around 240,000 tons of coffee.

Ethiopia, regarded as the origin of Arabica coffee, is one of Africa's largest producers and exporters of the commodity. Coffee production is dubbed as the backbone of the country's agriculture-led economy. Widely recognized for its rich coffee quality and flavor, ranging from winy to fruity and chocolatey, the country's coffee is in great demand across the globe.

Experts often attribute the lack of value addition to Ethiopia's coffee sector as a major bottleneck that hinders the country from fully benefiting from its rich coffee resources, as the country mainly exports raw coffee beans to the international market.