Comments on: Ethiopia: Slamming the door on specialty coffee buyers

By: Ronnie

Ronnie — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:48:13 +0000

To Tom:

Coffee is the world’s second most valuable traded commodity, behind only petroleum. There are approximately 20 million farmers and coffee workers in over 50 countries involved in producing coffee around the world. What happens on coffee farms and in the governments of coffee nations affects the economy more than textiles, coal, or anything else besides petroleum.

Ethiopia consumes more than half of the coffee that it produces, which leaves only a minority of that coffee to be exported. Of that minority, Ethiopia has some of the most sought after coffees (i.e. Yirgacheffe), as well as some of the most unpalatable Arabica available. Columbia, the political model which this new system imitates, currently has the reputation of the world’s leader in consistent mediocrity. Even an above-average Columbia Supremo may be marketed as “a good doughnut coffee”.

People aren’t going to pay for a good doughnut coffee to be transported halfway across the world, and my customers certainly won’t pay anything near the price of my Yirgacheffe for a mix-and-match graded coffee simply called “Ethiopia 1″. If wine was sold the same way that this new model proposes to sell coffee, then you would walk down the shelves and see “French Wine Gr.3″ and “Italian Wine Gr.1″, and every bottle would be as consistently mediocre from year to year as a Coca-Cola.

By: dean cycon

dean cycon — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 17:55:48 +0000

there are, as usual, so many undercurrents here. at one level is the attempt to raise coffee prices for all ethiopian farmers. that is a good goal. but the way chosen to go is going to ultimately hurt both the growers who try to make a better (more valuable) product, and all farmers will itimately suffer as specialty buyers move to other, more evolving origins. the more subtle undercurrent is political control. this looks a lot like another move to consolidate political control in addis ababa at the expense of semi-autonomus regional governments, gaadah and other forms of traditional administration.

By: Eritrawi

Eritrawi — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 12:00:00 +0000

This shows how desperate Woyanne and their money laudering machine EFFORT are for money, they were fat making money off donated food and funds, now that free money is drying up and they are grasping at any revenue making enterprise the rest of Ethiopians had.

Add to that the looming defeat they are facing all over Ethiopia, this action is not a surprise but a perverse logical act of the desperate Woyanne, the next step is to accelerate shipping every revenue generating industry to Tigray so they can retreat there as a final act of dismatling Ethiopia as we know it today.

This unrealistic Abay Tigray dream will turn to a nightmare when the people of Ethiopia turn on these tribal fascists, even the people of Tigray will not stand for this because they never benefited from this tribal junta save for those few tribalists who are living off the backs of the Ethiopian peoeple as a whole, thier dream will turn to a nightmare soon!

By: tom

tom — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 06:37:56 +0000

When the market ceases to function at all, all bets are off. At least for a while. In the USA we are practically nationalizing our banks at the expense of shareholders, competition, etc.

It seems a bit of a disconnect to be worrying about specialty markets when the fundamentals aren’t even working properly yet.

By: tionico

tionico — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 03:33:38 +0000

Having found and purchased a few coffees from the superior lots, shipped as estate or single origin coffees, and tasted their amazing quality, this is MOST disappointing news. Typical of how government functions….. in nationalising any industry, the mass least common denominator generally prevails. Those who, last year, had learnt what to do to result in truly superior product will, this year, find their efforts count for naught. We who had come to expect, and count upon, the superior products such growers could produce, will not be able to find this quality of coffee when it is all thrown into the same hopper and blended. What this means is that we, for certain, will not be spending any significant money on high quality Ethiopian lots this year… there will be none. I can get a similar profile from Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, even India and Papua New Guinea, for far less…….. so why spend more to get less?

By: tezibt

tezibt — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:56:15 +0000

This is economics masturbation. I guess we have to try what may work, though I completely disagree in snatching property from hard working greedy business people. What is right though and how do we gauge it. The West, with all its Nobel prize winner economists hasn’t figured out how to get out of financial crisis ;therefore, we just have to take it from one perspective, trial and error. In the end every thing is destined to correct itself.

By: muya beleb

muya beleb — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 19:31:57 +0000

Knowing how Woyanes have been operating for the last 20 years, I have no confidence in them what is so ever that they will do something to benefit all Ethiopians. It seems always how it is going to help and improve the Woynes lives and the greater Tigrae at the cost of hard working poor Ethiopian tax payers and hard working farmers. My great grandfather like many millions of Ethiopians gave their lives for their beloved country during Italian war so their children and grand children could live in their own country in peace, harmony and dignity with pride without being slaved by foreign invaders, but unfortunately, the Ethiopian born hoodlum Woyanes are acting like foreign invaders. I hope the end of woyanes is near for the sake of Ethiopia and all Ethiopians.

By: Dubale Kesemay

Dubale Kesemay — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 17:52:55 +0000

And this guy (Meles Zenawi) has MBA and is said to be “the best in his class of graduating.” Theory and practice…so different in Ethiopia…what a shame.