Ethiopia unveils strategic plan to boost coffee, tea, and spice production

ETHIOPIA – The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) has launched a new strategic plan aimed at expanding the country’s tea, spice, and coffee production, with a focus on improving quality and increasing output to tap into new international markets. 

Speaking on the initiative, ECTA’s Director General, Dr. Adugna Debela, highlighted the untapped potential of Ethiopia’s agricultural sectors beyond coffee, specifically focusing on tea and spices.  

While Ethiopia is renowned for its coffee globally, its tea sector has been underutilized, with only 4,000 hectares currently dedicated to tea cultivation despite the country’s ideal conditions for growing the crop. 

To harness this potential, ECTA is focusing on expanding tea plantations, particularly in Oromia State.  

In the past year, 10,000 hectares of land were planted with tea in the region, and the authority plans to increase this by an additional 30,000 hectares over the next three years.  

This expansion is expected to significantly boost both production and export revenues for the tea sector.  

In the 2023/2024 fiscal year, Ethiopia’s tea industry recorded a 34 percent growth, with exports surpassing 1,142 tons and generating US$2.33 million in revenue. 

In addition to tea, ECTA is also working to enhance Ethiopia’s spice exports. The authority aims to increase the country’s current US$20 million in annual spice export revenues by improving packaging and meeting international quality standards. 

In the coffee sector, Ethiopia aims to export 326,000 tons of coffee this fiscal year, targeting US$1.8 billion in revenue.  

Already, the country has made significant progress, earning US$380 million from 83,000 tons of coffee exports in the first two months of the fiscal year, a 30,000-ton increase from the same period last year. 

ECTA is also focused on expanding Ethiopia’s coffee market into new territories while strengthening existing relationships with the U.S., Germany, Japan, Belgium, and Saudi Arabia.  

The authority is promoting specialty coffee, which fetches a premium price of up to US$5,500 per ton, compared to US$2,800 for commercial coffee. 

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