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Coffee
Ethiopia has long
been known as the origin of coffee Arabica. The potential fore
coffee production in Ethiopia is very high due to the country’s
coffee pro9ducing areas which have suitable altitude and the
fertility of the soil is maintained by organic recycling. Coffee is
one of Ethiopia’s largest export commodities and it generated 60% of
the country’s export earnings. The role that coffee plays in the
country’s economy is a major determinant of the economic climate and
it has become the most important commercial crop.
The superior quality of coffee Arabica is unmatched,
particularly in its flavor and aroma. Ethiopia also produces several
types of coffee beans, which can be used for hot beverages, iced
drinks, ice creams and in the confectionary industries.
With regard to coffee trading, Ethiopia is the oldest
coffee exporter in the world and more than 90% of the nation’s
coffee is organically produced. New plantations in the country start
supplying the domestic market and it will lead to additional exports
from the known coffee producing areas.
The total coffee area in Ethiopia is estimated at 400,000
hectares. The typical coffee production systems in Ethiopia comprise
forest, semi-forest garden and modern plantain of coffee. The
performance of Ethiopia’s annual coffee export in 2003 was 126,100
tons and earned 165.3 million US Dollars, while in 2004 the annual
coffee export was 144,629 tons and the country earned over 208.3
million US Dollars.
Ethiopia exports
washed and sun dried coffee to several countries including the
United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Japan, nether lands, Italy,
France and Saudi Arabia.
Ethiopia exported 7,894 tons and 5,345 semi-finished skins
in the year 2003 and 2004 respectively. The amount of semi-finished
hides exported in 2003 was 2,284 tons while in 2004 increased to
3,935 tons.
Ethiopia hides
and skins are relatively getting high demand in Italy, Canada,
France, the Netherlands, united kingdom, USA, Spain Germany, Japan,
South and West Africa.
Leather and
leather products
The government of Ethiopia has established by promulgation
the leather and Leather Products Technology institute. The institute
has main objective of producing skilled labour power, conducting
research and development activities, rendering consultancy services
and providing technical service to stakeholders in the leather
sector. The Institute is one of the centers in the continent. There
fore, the institute avails its capacity to other sister courtiers in
Africa which are also venturing to advance their respective leather
and associated industries.
Not only the volume of production but also the unique
qualities of Ethiopian leather, some of which are used as quality
standard in the international market, give a competitive edge over
other countries. The Ethiopian goatskin named after a place called
Bati is known for its dense fiver texture that makes it ideal for
the production of extremely ideal high-class warring apparel. In
recognition of this fact, it was named “Bati Genuine” and fetches
the highest price in the world market.
Similarly, the Ethiopian hair sheepskins are known for
their unique natural substance of fineness, thickness, flexibility,
strength and the compactness of texture and are identified as “
Selallie Genuine” Ethiopian sheepskins are used world wide for
extremely high class and high value gloves often fetching far more
unit prices than leather garments.
The leather and leather products sub-sector occupies a
special position in the Ethiopian economy. The sector is considered
vital for the growth of the over all economy since it contributes
abuts 12% of the total foreign currency earning of the country. The
Ethiopian Leather Journal (2004) indicated that the country earned
over 60 million USD in 2004 from its leather industry. However,
there are only twenty-one tanneries, which mainly produce
semi-processed products for export and small quantities of finished
leather for domestic leather products industry and very small share
only for export
The of finished leather and leather products include;
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Leather
garments
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Foot wear
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Gloves
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Bags and
other leather articles
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