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To increase international trade competitiveness, the Government of Ethiopia has implemented far-reaching economic reforms in the coffee subsector. As a result of various market liberalization measures, the coffee industry has undergone unprecedented changes.
History of Coffee
Settled agriculture began in Ethiopia some 2,000 years ago. Since time immemorial, coffee arabica has been grown in the wild forests of the south-western massive highlands of the Kaffa and Buno districts of the country. Ethiopia is the primary centre of origin and genetic diversity of the Arabica coffee plant, earlier known as jasminum arabicum laurifolia.
Coffee trade
 With coffee thus a commodity crop earlier than 1500, Ethiopia is the oldest coffee exporter in the world, though external invasions and internal conflicts have at times had a negative impact on the country's coffee export history.
Coffee export in Harar and Gerri goes back to earlier than 1810. In 1838, Rupell recorded the export of 100 quintals of Enarea-coffee (now Liumu-Seka, Jimma) via Massawa. In the 19th century, tow coffee types, "specialty coffee", were exported as first and second grade Harari coffee and Abyssinia coffee to London, Marseilles, New York and trieste.
Ethiopian Muslim merchants transported coffee and other goods in caravans of mules, camels and donkeys. Export was dominated and facilitated by foreigners of more than 140 different nations, including Greeks, Armenians, Germans, Belgians, Indians, Lebanese, Turks and Yemenis.
Coffee classification and grading systems in Ethiopia were developed and licensed for the first time in 1952 and then modified in 1955. Ethiopian coffee certification began after the establishment of the National Coffee Board of Ethiopia in 1957. The NCBE's aims were to control and coordinate producers , traders, and exporters interests and to improve the quality of Ethiopian coffee.
In 1960, Ethiopia became a member of the Inter-African Coffee Organization . The same year, it also became a member of the International Coffee Organization and allocated a 2.5 per cent share of the global market.
Economy
 Coffee is the most important agricultural commodity in the world, and is worth up to $14 billion annually. More than 80 countries, including Ethiopia, cultivate coffee, which is exported as the raw, roasted or soluble product to more than 165 countries worldwide. More than 121 countries export and /or re-export coffee. More than 50 developing countries, 25 of them in Africa, depend on coffee as an export, with 17 countries earning 25 per cent of their foreign exchange from coffee.
The agriculture-based Ethiopian economy is highly dependent on coffee arabica as it contributes more than 60 per cent of the country's foreign exchange earnings. No other product or service in Ethiopia has earned as much. The labor intensive tree crop also provides much employment in rural areas and is the means of livelihood for over 15 million people in Ethiopia.
Thus, as well as being an important export, coffee plays a vital role in both cultural and socio-economic life of the country.
Coffee Production Potential
 The potential for coffee production in Ethiopia is very high, thanks to the country's suitable altitude, ample rainfall, optimum temperatures, appropriate planting materials and fertile soil. Furthermore, the country is of particular interest to the world because it is where coffee arabica originated, and thus has the best inherent quality for production potential. The total area covered by coffee is about 400,000 hectares, with a total production of 200,000 tonnes of clean coffee per annum.
Altitude
In Ethiopia, coffee grows at various altitudes, ranging from 550-2,750m above sea level. However, the bulk of coffee arabica is produced in the eastern, southern and western parts of the country, which have altitudes ranging from 1,300 - 1,800 masl.
Rainfall
Annual rainfall in the coffee-growing regions of the country varies from 1,500-2,500mm. Where precipitation is less, as in the eastern part of the country, which has only 1,000 mm per annum, it is supplemented with irrigation. It is not only the total rainfall which is important for good production but also its eight-month distribution. Rainfall distribution in the southern and eastern parts of the country is bimodal, and in the western part is monomodal. These distribution patterns enable the country to harvest coffee at different times of the year, ensuring a supply of fresh beans all year round.
Temperature
 Coffee arabica grows best in the cool, shady environment of the forests of the Ethiopian highlands. The ideal temperature for coffee arabica is considered 15-25ºc. This temperature prevails in most of the country's coffee-growing areas.
Planting Material
Because the country is the center of origin of coffee arabica, the variability of the plant character is very wide, making possible planting materials which are disease-resistant, high-yielding and of top quality. This is nature's gift to Ethiopia in particular and to the world in general, and it requires special care and proper utilization.
Soils
 The soils in the southern and western parts of the coffee-growing regions of Ethiopia are of volcanic origin, with a high nutrient-holding capacity for clay minerals. The Mesozoic layer, made up of sandstone and calcium carbonate, is found in the eastern part of the coffee-growing region. All the coffee-growing regions have fertile, friable, loamy soils, with a depth of at least 1.5m. The topsoil is dominantly dark-brown or brownish in color, with a PH ranging mostly from 5-6.8 (water extract). One outstanding characteristic of the soil is that its fertility is maintained by organic recycling, i.e., through litter fall, pruning and root residue from the perennial, coffee and shade trees.
In addition, the small coffee farmers, who are the majore producers, use organic fertilizers to supplement the natural fertility of the soil. Most buyers know that the bulk of coffee produced in Ethiopia qualifies as organically-grown.
Coffee Production Systems
There are four types of production system in Ethiopia: forest coffee, semi-forest coffee, garden coffee and plantation coffee. Ninety-five per cent of the coffee produced under these systems is organic.
 Forest Coffee
Forest coffee is found in south and south-western Ethiopia. These are the centers of origin of coffee arabica. Forest coffee is self-sown and grown under the full coverage of natural forest trees, and has a wide diversity for selection and breeding for disease resistance. It offers high yields and top-quality aroma and flavor. Forest coffee accounts for about 10 per cent of Ethiopia's total coffee production.
 Semi-Forest Coffee
This production system is also found in the south and south-western parts of the country. Farmers acquire forest land for coffee farms, and then thin and select the forest trees to ensure both adequate sunlight and proper shade for the coffee trees. They slash the weeds once a year to facilitate the coffee bean harvest. Semi-forest coffee accounts for about 35 per cent of Ethiopia's total coffee production.
 Garden Coffee
Garden coffee is grown in the vicinity of farmer's residences, mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the country. The coffee is planted at low densities, ranging from 1,000 to 1,800 trees per hectare, is mostly fertilized with organic waste and is intercropped with other crops. Currently, garden coffee accounts for about 35 per cent of Ethiopia's total coffee production but this is set to increase with the introduction of the system into south-west Ethiopia.
 Plantation Coffee
Plantation coffee includes that grown on plantations owned by the former state and some well-managed smallholder coffee farms. In this production system, recommended seedlings are used, and proper spacing, mulching, manuring, weeding, shade-regulation and pruning are practiced. Only state-owned plantations use chemical fertilizers and herbicides and this accounts for only about five per cent of total production. Well-managed smallholder coffee farms account for about 15 per cent of Ethiopia's total production.
Coffee Harvesting and Processing
Coffee is processed by two widely-known methods - dry and wet. Ethiopia exports 80-85 per cent natural or sun-dried coffee and 15-20 per cent wet-processed coffee.
Sun-Dried Coffee
 Harvesting- The time of flowering determines the time of the maturing of the coffee fruit. In coffee plantations, flowering does not usually occur all at one time. Usually there are two, three or sometimes four independent flowerings when successive rains occur. In most coffee-growing areas, the flowering period is between December and April and the harvesting period falls between August and January, i.e. seed maturity occurs mostly six to nine months after the blooming period triggered by rainfall. This ensures continuous production throughout the year. The coffee-harvesting is done mostly by family labor, as the size of the average coffee farm is as small as .5ha.
 Drying- Natural coffee is dried much more slowly than wet-processed coffee, because it is harvested with a variable moisture content that sometimes requires water to be removed from throughout the whole fruit. Natural coffee is dried in about three to four weeks in the sun, longer in cloudy or damp weather.
The coffee cherry is allowed to dry to about 11.5 per cent moisture in the whole fruit, after which all the outer layers are removed together by hulling and the commercial bean obtained and delivered to the central market.
Hulling- After the dried cherries arrive at the hullery, they are cleaned and stoned before they enter the huller. Undersized cherries are seperated for reprocessing. The basic raw materials required from successful hulling are fully-dried cherries of resonable and even size.
Wet-Processed CoffeeSince consumer preference is for wet-processed coffee, Ethiopia intends to increase the quantity of this commodity it produces. There are currently more than 400 coffee-washing plants in the country, owned by co-operatives, former state enterprises and private companies. At full capacity, these plants can produce about 52,000 tonnes of washed coffee per annum.
The country is well-known for its high-quality wet-processed coffee because there is a well-established and linked structure that connects coffee farmers, processing -plant owners, governmental organizations and coffee-purchasing enterprises, leading to effective quality control and efficient marketing.
The extension program, which includes experienced professionals at all levels, disseminates processing extension services to all producers. In particular, coffee harvesting and handling techniques are passed on by extension agents, and technical support is provided by professional processing experts at each plant.
 Besides, each year, before the start of wet-processing operations, training is given to all operators engaged at each washing plant. Each specialized operator knows his duties and responsibilities well, and this is supported by strict supervision.
It is well-known that top-quality coffee is produced only from freshly picked, fully ripe cherries, and farmers are always advised to pick only these. Harvesting is done carefully, under close supervision. In addition, the cherries are sorted before pulping and unsuitable cherries are removed. The final sorted and clean cherries are pulped the same day they are harvested.
 The pulped wet parchment coffee goes to the different fermentation tanks to ferment naturally. The process is carefully supervised to avoid under- or over-fermentation.
 The fermented coffee is finally washed with clean running water and soaked in clean water to degrade and remove the remaining mucilage and acids and to improve the color of the beans. The wet parchment coffee is dried in the sun on raised drying tables and sorted at 11.5 per cent moisture.
 Export Processing
It is a precondition for all exporters that they process their coffee to the country's export standard. The Coffee Processing and Warehouse Enterprise is a modern, state-owned enterprise, whose objective is to render high-standard coffee-processing and warehousing services. The Enterprise has three production lines, each with the capacity to process five tonnes of coffee an hour, and with a storage capacity of 30,000 tonnes. |
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