KEY POINTS
- Coffee contributes approximately 24 percent to Ethiopia’s export income and supports over 15 million livelihoods.
- The traditional coffee ceremony, “Jebena Buna,” symbolizes hospitality and social bonds in Ethiopian culture.
- Challenges such as climate change and new EU deforestation regulations threaten the sustainability of Ethiopia’s coffee industry.
Coffee is considered to be a dear and valued beverage for almost all people and is most closely associated with Ethiopia due to its possible origin.
The role of coffee is significant in the economic model of the country and its people’s life and in the sphere of trade relations between countries.
Economic significance of coffee in Ethiopia
Coffee is one of the most crucial crops for Ethiopia; it provides around 24 percent of the country’s export earnings .
This sector is the source of incomes for over 15 million Ethiopians, which includes farmers, processors, and traders.
Ethiopian has different coffee types like Yirgacheffe, Sidamo , and Harrar considering being famous in the global market for its distinctive tastes.
Cultural importance of coffee in Ethiopian society
Other than its economic value, coffee is a very significant cultural commodity in Ethiopia.
These include; The coffee ceremony, or “jebena buna” a rite where people come together to share drinking coffee as a hospitality practice.
The hanging process includes roasting the green coffee beans, grinding phase and the brewing phase where it is done in a clay cooking pot called ‘jebena’.
The ceremony acts as a major complementary occasion of events besides institutional social events, reunions, reconciliations that symbolize friendship among the Ethiopians.
Challenges facing Ethiopia’s coffee industry
Despite its prominence, Ethiopia’s coffee industry faces several challenges. Climate change poses a significant threat, with rising temperatures and unpredictable rainfall patterns affecting coffee cultivation.
Additionally, new European Union deforestation regulations, effective January 1, 2025, require importers to prove their supply chains do not contribute to deforestation.
This presents a major challenge for Ethiopian smallholders in regions like Kaffa, where internet coverage is poor and land registries are non-existent.
Compliance could take up to five years, potentially causing importers to turn to more traceable sources like Brazil.
Initiatives to sustain and enhance the coffee sector
To this end, the following multi-faceted measures have been taken. The sustainable production techniques, certification of fair trade and organic farming are emerging to make the development of this industry with cultural value for the country.
The Geographical Indication (GI) status accorded to Ethiopian coffee opens up opportunities of offering protection of the particularity of the taste, which would otherwise be misrepresented to consumers or the world at large as being created from a different origin than the Ethiopian origin that it originated from.
These strategies are intended to maintain the country’s coffee traditions owing to new market changes and to challenge the environment in Ethiopia.
