Ethiopia Makes a Mark in the Global Coffee Market Over the Last 6 Months

Published 2022년 5월 18일

Ethiopia’s coffee industry has been booming due to consistent government support to export and thriving demand in the global coffee market. In the last 6 months, the country exported 162.8 thousand mt of coffee, a YoY increase of about 22% over the same period last year. This increase comes after rising coffee prices in the global market, increased productivity, and improved control systems, alongside the opening up of markets for Ethiopia to capture. With unsuitable growing conditions in Brazil during the last marketing year 2021-22, the supply of coffee is very tight in the global market. This has opened up doors for even the smaller coffee-producing countries to make their mark in the global economy.

The Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority has been engaged in transforming its coffee sector for quite a few years now. They are focusing on equipping their farmers with the capacity to be directly involved in international trade with foreign coffee companies, given the growing popularity of Ethiopian coffee beans in Europe and the U.S. With this, there has been a substantial increase in coffee exports over the past few years. For instance, the Ethiopian government recently passed a bill to protect their farmers and create free access for foreign buyers, with the hopes to create a more smooth and transparent international coffee trading process.

With all these efforts in place, the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association stated that Ethiopian coffee exports have increased to 162.8 mt in the last six months. This is a YoY increase of 22.6% and a revenue of USD 645.1 million. If the trend persists, it is expected that Ethiopia will earn over one billion USD exporting coffee alone. During this period, Ethiopia's traditional top five coffee export destinations were Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Belgium, and the United States. Apart from the Ethiopian government’s promotional efforts, rising coffee prices in the global market, increased productivity, and improved control systems are among the major factors for the country's achievements in coffee exports.

Another major reason for the sudden increase in exports can be attributed to recurrent drought and frost in Brazil’s São Paulo and the Minas Geraes regions, which are among the largest coffee producing regions in the world. These areas are popular for their Arabica coffee; however, unsuitable weather conditions have resulted in a decline in coffee exports. This has created a shortage of coffee supply in the international market, which has opened avenues for smaller markets like Ethiopia, which have sought to capture new markets and expand their reach. Given the popularity of Ethiopian coffee and the efforts that have been made to promote it in the global market, and provided that the country is able to match global standards in quality and demand for quantity, the outlook for Ethiopia's coffee industry is forecast to remain strong.