July 12 2017 – ETHIOPIA has announced a record US$866 million earning from coffee export during the just concluded fiscal year.
The announcement by the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Development and Marketing Authority on Wednesday said Ethiopia has secured the revenue from the export of 221 000 tonnes of coffee to the global market.
According to the authority, the country has managed to achieve 92 % of its targets in coffee export sector during the 2016/2017 fiscal year.
The authority further hailed the performance as “a very great achievement” compared to the previous years as the quantity of coffee product exported grew by 11.5 % while the income generated from coffee export increased by 20%.
Germany, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Belgium, Sudan and South Korea are among the top importers of the Ethiopian coffee, accounting for close to 86% of the total coffee exported from Ethiopia, according to the authority.
Ethiopia is one of Africa’s largest producers of Arabica coffee. Coffee production is dubbed as the backbone of the country’s agriculture-led economy.
The East African country also announced US$74 million earning from gold exports during the same fiscal year.
The revenue was reduced by half from the previous period, when Ethiopia earned US$150 million from gold exports.
The Ethiopian Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas has blamed primarily the contraband gold trading for the decrease in gold exports revenue. Enditem
