The News
Ethiopia’s coffee exports revenue surged to $1.87 billion over the last 10 months — a new record for the commodity as arabica bean prices surge due to poor production this year in Brazil, the world’s top coffee producer. The milestone exceeded the country’s target by 142%, East African Agrinews reported.
The surge reflects the sustained rise in arabica prices, as well as the Ethiopian government stepping up its “support to smallholder farmers through supply inputs, state-of-the-art irrigation systems, and better infrastructure,” David Luke, director of the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics, told Semafor.
The future looks promising for Ethiopia’s coffee industry: The nation was hit modestly by Trump’s sweeping tariffs, due to take effect in July, unlike its rival Vietnam, which was hit with almost 50% tariffs. “US importers are likely to divert volumes toward Ethiopian coffee beans, offsetting any modest cost increase,” the Kiel Institute’s Finn Ole Semrau told Semafor.