Ethiopia garners $277m from export of coffee in 10 months

• Source: Xinhua
• [09:56 June 11 2009]
• Comments

Ethiopia said it has got over 277 million US dollars from the export of 98,000 tons of coffee during the past 10 months. In a press release, Ethiopia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said the amount of coffee exported to the world market during the period is greater than that of the same time in the previous year.

Of the total export of coffee, 10,361 tons were exported through the newly-established Ethiopian Commodity Exchange, said the press release.

The ministry said it anticipated better volume and income from coffee export in the coming months.

Coffee buyers could not live up to their contracts due to international financial crisis, and problems created by some coffee suppliers, who acted against the law, had put a negative impact on coffee trade at the beginning of the budget year, said the ministry.

However, due attention and support given by the government to the sector turned the situation to the better, it said. The government controlled 18,000 tons of coffee which was intended to be exported illegally.

The ministry called on all stakeholders to work jointly to further increase the country's foreign currency earnings by making use of local conducive environment.

Ethiopia is Africa's biggest coffee exporter and the birthplace of coffee bean. Coffee is the most important cash crop for Ethiopia and accounts for more than 60 percent of Ethiopia's export earnings.

At present, Ethiopia is suffering from a shortage of foreign currency due to the falling prices in the global coffee market.