Protection of the forest in Bale is more urgent than ever as high population growth and low agricultural yields are leading to deforestation to make way for an expansion of the smallholder agricultural frontier.
Arabica futures have rallied by about 25% since the beginning of April on expectations of lower 2021-22 crop in Brazil due to drought. Meanwhile, as major consuming economies start to reopen, demand is set to rise.
Ethiopia’s coffee exports accounted for 28.6% of the country’s foreign earnings in the last fiscal year However, the report notes that more than 90% of coffee exported, which totaled Birr 866 million (US$20.3m), was in the form of unprocessed coffee beans. Processing the coffee domestically and exporting the resulting products could potentially add billions of dollars a year to export earnings.
The new plant is an expansion of the Lavazza Professional facility in West Chester, Pennsylvania, which will integrate existing and new capabilities for Lavazza to produce roasted and ground coffee in the US, adding 1,000 square meters to the 18,000 square meter facility.
