[ACCI-CAVIE] In Ethiopia, coffee is the main export product. With its Arabica variety considered one of the best in the world as its main attraction, the country has been trying for some years to diversify its export outlets. 

In Ethiopia, the coffee industry is trying to make a place for itself on the Chinese market. On May 6, 2022, the Ethiopian Embassy in China hosted a virtual forum with bean importers from the Middle Kingdom.

This initiative aimed to promote the country’s Arabica coffee, which enjoys a worldwide reputation, and to establish contacts with the main players on the booming Chinese coffee market. Indeed, in the world’s most populous country, the appeal of the beverage has increased significantly over the last two decades with the rise in disposable income linked to growth.

The number of coffee consumers has reached nearly 350 million people in 2021, or about a quarter of the population, while the value of imports is expected to reach $16 billion by the end of 2022, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

It should be noted that this move comes almost 4 months after the collaboration of the Ethiopian authorities with the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba for the sale of more than 11,000 bags of coffee on its Tmall Global platform for foreign merchants.

As a reminder, Ethiopia is one of the few African coffee producers shipping to China. The country of the Negus was in 2020/2021, its 5th largest supplier of green coffee with 12% of total imports.

By JE