The fate of coffee #ethiopia

Coffee - reputed to be the second most sought
after commodity, after petroleum - has become a
100 billion-dollar plus commodity worldwide.
Nevertheless, the past two and half years have
seen a sustained downward trend in prices.
Producers worldwide complain of not being able
to cover the cost of production. Total production
in 2012/13 was around 145 million bags.
Consumption growth in traditional importing
countries, however, has slowed to around one
percent.
The challenge has been felt by Ethiopia - the fifth
largest coffee producer country in the world.
During the 2012/13 fiscal year, revenue from
coffee dropped to 746.4 million dollars - a
decrease of 10.4pc from the previous year. This
was in spite of the 17.7pc increase in export
volume, to 199,104tns, as data from the Ministry
of Trade (MoT) indicates.
After jumping up to 3.4 dollars a kilogram in the
year 2010, from 2.6 dollars per kilogram in 2009,
coffee prices continued to rise significantly, even
reaching 5.5 dollars the next year. Its drop to 3.8
dollars a kilogram in 2012 was the beginning of a
downward spiral. Thus, in October 2013, it stood
at a mere 2.4 dollars - its lowest in five years.
The volume of coffee exported stood at
199,104tns in 2012/13. This is lower than figures
for the two previous years.
It was against the backdrop of these worrying
trends that the capital of one of the top coffee
producers in the world and the origin of coffee
saw a gathering of 250 traders, exporters,
roasters, policymakers and regulatory
institutions, on November 4 and 5, 2013, at the
Sheraton Addis.
The event - the Second International Ethiopian
Coffee Conference, jointly organised by the
Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association (ECEA) and
USAID - was designed for local exporters to
expand their network within the international
market. This is with the aim of 'Building a
Sustainable Coffee Future' for the country.
"Issues relevant to Ethiopia's drive to secure its
legitimate place in the international market will be
addressed," Hussein addressed