ADDIS ABABA, July 11, 2025 — The Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority has announced that the country earned more than US$ 2.24 billion in revenue from coffee exports over the past 11 months.
According to Sahlemariam Gebremedhin, the Authority’s Public Relations and Communications Executive, Ethiopia initially planned to export around 280,000 tonnes of coffee during the fiscal year. However, actual exports reached 409,605 tonnes, surpassing the target by 146 percent and generating US$ 1 billion more than the revenue recorded last year.
Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the United States were the top destinations for Ethiopian coffee this year. Other major buyers included Belgium, China, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Japan, Italy, and Jordan.
Sahlemariam noted that efforts are underway to further boost revenue from the coffee sector by increasing productivity, ensuring quality, modernizing marketing practices, and addressing illegal trade.
Meanwhile, coffee futures surged on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened 50 percent tariffs on Brazil—the world’s largest producer of arabica coffee, leading to a price spike for U.S. consumers. Trump accused Brazil’s government of undermining free speech and orchestrating a “witch-hunt” against former right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro. In response, arabica coffee prices in New York rose by over 3.5 percent.
Brazil is the top global producer of arabica coffee, which is used in higher-end brews. Trump’s proposed tariffs have sent shockwaves through the coffee industry, especially since the U.S. is Brazil’s main coffee buyer.
Giuseppe Lavazza, chair of the Lavazza Group, remarked that tariffs between the U.S. and coffee-producing countries like Brazil and Vietnam would create significant challenges for coffee companies and lead to higher prices for American consumers. The end result would be an increase in coffee costs in the U.S., making the market more expensive overall.
Both arabica and robusta coffee prices have remained strong over the past few years due to poor harvests in Brazil and Vietnam, which reduced global supply and attracted speculators. London robusta futures hit a record high of nearly US$ 5,700 per tonne earlier this year, while the price of high-end arabica coffee beans surged 70 percent last year to US$ 4.20 per pound.
https://thecooperator.news/uganda-and-ethiopia-dominate-africas-coffee-exports-in-may-2025/
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