Ethiopia records 52.4% increase in coffee, spices, tea export

By Bisola Adeyemo

Ethiopia has announced profit made from its exports of coffee, spices, and tea as it earned 658.1 million U.S. dollars during the first seven months of its 2021/2022 fiscal year, up 52.4 percent from the same period a year earlier.

Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority officials say Coffee exports represented the highest share of the revenues, reaching 162,818.04 tons and earning 645.10 million dollars as rises in coffee prices, productivity, and improved control system are among the major factors for the export achievements.

Coffee is Ethiopia’s leading export product or the backbone of the country’s economy.

Ethiopia’s traditional top five coffee export destinations are Germany, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Belgium and the United States and in recent years, the East African country has been working to explore the emerging coffee market in China.

Last month, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) highlighted Ethiopia’s recent success in exporting coffee to China, saying it will provide a roadmap for the potential coffee exports of other African countries.

“Success recorded in exporting Ethiopian coffee to China will provide a roadmap in leveraging export potential for other ten African countries, where ECA (UNECA) is working this year, to provide more export potential from Africa to China,” said Vera Songwe, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UNECA, in a UNECA statement sent to Xinhua.