Ethiopia inks deal to boost coffee export to China

BEIJING, April 23– China and Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Tuesday on coffee exports to China and to deepen bilateral trade cooperation.

Under the agreement, efforts will be made to encourage the export of Ethiopia’s cash crops, starting with coffee, and seek buyers to help sell Ethiopian coffee in China.

“The agreement will also help upgrade Ethiopia’s coffee industry and create more jobs for the local youth,” said Luo Zhuowei, an official with the Investment Promotion Center of China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

The memorandum was signed between Ethiopia’s Ministry of Innovation and Technology and the Investment Promotion Center of CCPIT.

Amid increasing demand for coffee among younger Chinese, penetrating the emerging coffee market has become a major priority of Ethiopian coffee producers and exporters.

Advanced technologies such as blockchain are expected to be applied in the coffee making process to add more value to the country’s coffee industry, said Getahun Mekuria, Ethiopia’s innovation and technology minister. – XINHUA