By Wondwossen Mezlekia July 05, 2012 Ethiopia's coffee export continues to plummet due to chaotic government controls and enforcement of bad policies. The downward trending export that began falling in 2008/09 following the government's tightening of its grip on the sector continues to nose-dive in the face of favorable international prices that hit a 13-year high in 2010 and a 29% increase in total production. According to the International Coffee Organization (ICO), Ethiopia's production during the current crop year was 549,745 tons and domestic consumption is estimated at 223,747 tons. Based on available cumulative data, the current year's export is forecast to be about 143,442 tons - a decline by about 30% from last year's 199,871 tons. 1 In the four years since Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) began trading coffee (2008/09-2011/12), the country's net export has declined by about 9% to an average of 164,735 tons per year from the pre...