In January, we have been able to travel to Ethiopia and visit our partners. Since then, we have been busy receiving all samples from the new crop and prepare our selection for 2022. Good moment to recap on the situation in Ethiopia and highlight the main key points for this origin.

Last November, state of emergency was declared by Ethiopian government when fighters from Tigray surged south toward the capital, Addis Ababa. Many foreigners fled the country and Embassies across the world were strictly recommending not to travel to Ethiopia. In December the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed managed to mobilize citizens to take up arms and received armed drones from allied countries to block the Tigrayan advance. More than a year after the Ethiopian government began a military campaign in the Tigray region, Ethiopians are now bitterly divided and their country is wracked by famine and suffering.

Despite international demands to end the conflict, fighting continues in Tigray, the epicenter of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Last December, the United Nations Human Rights Council passed a resolution to establish an independent investigation into violations committed by all warring parties in the ongoing conflict. Ethiopia’s government objected to the resolution, calling it an “instrument of political pressure”.

In the coffee regions, mainly in the west and south of Ethiopia, conflict is less present. According to our partners, there is no real impact on the production this year and coffee have been delivered to the dry mills in Addis Ababa as scheduled even though insecurity remains.

We have been very pleased with the first samples we cupped this year ! Thanks to natural crop cycles, we expect excellent quality and a larger yield. But roasters will have to be ready to pay more for their Ethiopian coffees this year…

In Ethiopia farmers are paid when they deliver their cherries to the local washing stations. The liberalization of the coffee market some years ago result in a higher competition in the market. Farmers can decide where they prefer to deliver their cherries based on the price offered. Moreover, the demand keeps increasing and local cooperatives as washing stations are benefiting from an higher competition from buyers. Messages from our partners is that coffee prices are regularly increasing every day and the Ethiopian National Bank is also revising the minimum coffee export price every week.

As a result we see an increase in buying price (FOB) of approximately 140usc/lb  (around 2.5-3€/kg).

The good thing is that farmers will definitely benefit from this increase this year, meaning a positive impact on their farms and living conditions.

At Cuprima, we are done with our selection and are now finalizing our containers. We expect to receive our lots in June/July and will provide more detailed information of the beautiful coffees we are expecting to receive…

Walsh, D. and Latif Dahir, A., 2022. Why Is Ethiopia at War With Itself?. nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/article/ethiopia-tigray-conflict-explained.html