U.S roaster agrees to help promote Ethiopian coffee

Tue Feb 6, 2007 5:16am ET
ADDIS ABABA, Feb 6 (Reuters)

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR.O: Quote, Profile , Research), a major U.S. coffee buyer, has agreed to a scheme that recognises three of Ethiopia's prized coffee brands, a senior Ethiopian government official said on Tuesday.

Ethiopia, which prides itself as the birthplace of coffee, has been in dispute with Starbucks (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile , Research), saying the U.S. coffee shop chain had tried to block Africa's biggest producer from trade marking its best-known beans: Sidamo and Harar.

"This is an innovative project that will help consumers understand the unique characteristics and true value of Ethiopian coffee and help to improve the livelihood of millions in Ethiopia for whom coffee is a vital source of income," Getachew Mengistie, head of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office, said.

"We believe this type of commercial cooperation can create mutually beneficial relationships and become the new standard for best practice in the coffee industry," he told Reuters.

Experts say peasant farmers may have lost potential income of more than $90 million because their coffee had no trademark.

Abera Tola, regional director for Oxfam America in East Africa, praised the Green Mountain's commitment to support Ethiopia's effort to enhance the value of its specialty coffee in the United States.

"By signing a letter of intent, Green Mountain is making a public commitment to work with Ethiopia on Ethiopia's initiative rather than putting forth its own recommendations and dictating the terms of discussion regarding the trademark," he said.

"Our hope is that other coffee companies will flow suit," he added.

Starbucks buys Ethiopian coffee worth between $6-$8 million out of the country's $400 million annual export.

In 2005, Ethiopia applied for trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to register the Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe coffee names. The office declined to register the first two.