Ethiopia’s coffee export market is expanding due to the rising consumption and popularity of the country’s coffee among Chinese consumers, according to officials and coffee exporters.
According to data from Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), Ethiopia exported 11,935.65 metric tonnes of coffee to China during the previous Ethiopian fiscal year, which ended on July 7, earning 65.31 million USD, an increase of 84% year on year.
Last fiscal year (July 8, 2021-July 7, 2022), China ranked seventh among major importers of Ethiopian coffee, up from 33rd the previous fiscal year (July 8, 2020-July 7, 2021).
Currently, the youth in China are really fond of Ethiopian coffee and we are witnessing growing coffee market share in China and other parts of Asia.
Adugna Debela, Director General, Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA)
Debela believes that due to its large population and growing coffee consumption, China would be one of the main consumers of Ethiopian coffee.
Very recently, countries like China, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates are coming to the front line, after consumers in those countries tested and proved that Ethiopian coffee is an organic one.
Adugna Debela, Director General, Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA)
With the growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in the Chinese coffee market, an increasing number of Ethiopian coffee producers and exporters are competing to enter the burgeoning Chinese coffee market.
Israel Degefa, CEO of Kerchanshe Trading, the country’s largest producer and exporter of coffee, shares the same sentiment and believes that “China would be one of the main destinations for Ethiopian coffee in the near future.”
In general, the Chinese market is growing every year and we are tripling our export to China both in [the] volume of coffee and value. The demand is high and we are preparing to grow more coffee to feed the Chinese market.
I think there is a cultural shift among the Chinese people. The Chinese new generation is adapting to drink tea and coffee concurrently.
Israel Degefa, CEO, Kerchanshe Trading
Temesgen Cherkos, export manager of Hadeed Trading Private Limited Company, stated that his company is increasing coffee shipments to China, attributing the increase in coffee export volume to China’s growing coffee consumption habits.
We have been sending coffee to China for two years now. We exported a small volume of coffee the previous year but this year, after we got registered in China, we are exporting an increasing volume of coffee to China. At least we make shipments of 10 containers of coffee to China every month.
Known as the origin of Arabica coffee, Ethiopia is recognised internationally for its excellent coffee quality and variety of flavours and scents, driving up global demand for the commodity.
Ethiopia earned a record $1.4 billion last fiscal year by exporting over 300,000 metric tonnes of coffee. Germany, the United States, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, and Japan were its top five export destinations.
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Ethiopia has approximately 5 million coffee growers, and more than 25 million Ethiopians rely on coffee production and processing for a living. According to ECTA, coffee accounts for up to 30% of Ethiopia’s export revenue.
However, ECTA data shows that only 12% of Ethiopian coffee exports command the highest price in the international coffee market due to a lack of modern technology and the best variety of species in coffee production and processing.
According to ECTA, coffee Arabica is highly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions, particularly desert weather, which poses a potential threat to coffee production.
