By
Staff Reporter
December
14, 2011
The
mandatory bulk container shipping regulation instituted by the Ethiopian government
on November 11, 2011 has spurred a rush of complaints from foreign buyers.
Bulk
Container Shipping uses one container size bag into which coffee is stored
instead of the conventional 60 kilogram bags. German and Switzerland
Associations representing major importers of Ethiopian coffee have written
letters in opposition to the mandatory bulk container shipping Ethiopian
embassies, Foreign Ministry and Minister of Trade. According to sources 10
Associations of Ethiopian coffee importers amongst which are the major
importing countries have voiced dissatisfaction with the Bulk Shipment of
Coffee regulation and there are reports of them turning to other exporting
countries as a result.
Sources
further disclosed that Colombian and Kenyan Coffee Exports have risen in the
Arabica type category of the international coffee trade, and that Ethiopia's
sales requirement of 30,000 tons for this week has went unsold. The mandatory
bulk container shipping regulation has raised strong protests by the coffee
exporters community in Addis Ababa as well, many of which said the directive
will hurt the country's coffee industry and that their foreign buyers marked
dissatisfaction with the arrangement in a meeting with state Minister of Trade
Yacob Yala this week.
Sources
have told The Reporter that the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA)
will submit a letter which protests the directive to the Prime Minister's
office tomorrow, Thursday November 15, 2011.
A
notable majority of Ethiopian coffee exporters view the bulk container shipping
regulation as suicidal to Ethiopia's coffee business, a few have decided to
ignore it and face consequences where as on the other side a small number are
exporting successfully. Minister of Trade told coffee exporters this week in a
consultative meeting that bulk container coffee shipments had risen from the
previous year.