Ethiopia’s coffee export volume falls short at 67% of the 5-year “Grand Transformation Plan I” target

Wondwossen’s Note:  You may also want to read this commentary that was published on July 6, 2012 for an in depth analysis of the problem and its root causes. That commentary attempts to show that the challenges that are cited in the article below are merely the symptoms, not the root causes of the problem.

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Ministry reports lower coffee export performance in GTP I

Addis Fortune

August 10, 2015

The Ministry of Trade (MoT) has reported coffee exports of the country to be 939,325tn from the total planned 1.4 million tonnes in the five years of the first GTP. This generated a four billion dollar income for the country while the plan was 5.2 billion dollars.

In the first year of the GTP, 2009/10, the plan was to export 302,264tn of coffee which decreased to 288,857tn in the following year. Planned exports continued to fall up to 2014/15.

Among the 55 export destinations of the country’s coffee, Germany took the lead with 254,977tn in GTP I, generating revenue of one billion dollars. Second was Saudi Arabia with 146,308tn and 595,131 dollars in volume and value respectively.

Coffee smuggling, domestic trading of export coffee, and the outmoded primary level market were stated as challenges in the performance of the plan according to Getahun Bikora, Coffee Marketing director at the Ministry.

The proclamation makes illegal coffee trading punishable by imprisonment ranging from one year to five years with fine ranging from 20,000 Br to 100,000 Br.

From contraband traders the Ministry had seized 24.6tn of coffee in the fiscal year 2014/15 from Bedele and Bonga, both coffee producing areas in the south western part of the country and sold it to exporters earning an income of 1.5 million Br.

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PUBLISHED ON AUG 10,2015 [ VOL 16 ,NO 797