In early morning, the valley was bathed in sunlight as the sun peeked through the trees, casting a warm glow over the land of hope. Braving the rising sun, my Embassy team and I reached the renowned Ethiopian coffee-growing region of Yirgacheffe. As a coffee enthusiast, I have been captivated by this place for long. After three months of working in Ethiopia, I finally made my trip here, and my excitement and anticipation was obvious.
In Yirgacheffe, we picked coffee cherries in a light drizzle, visited processing facilities and learned procedures for coffee washing, sun-drying, and storage, each step marked by the sweat and toil of farmers. When a freshly brewed cup of coffee was handed to me, its rich aroma immediately filled the air. With a sip, I savored its rich and lingering aftertaste, as if it were telling the story of this land. We also visited another famous coffee-growing area Sidama, where we learned more about Ethiopian coffee from the proud and enthusiastic introduction by our local friends.
As the birthplace of coffee, Ethiopia’s coffee industry plays a crucial role in its national economy, connecting millions of households. According to statistics, Ethiopia has approximately 5 million small-scale coffee growing households, and over 25 million people are engaged in coffee production, processing, and sales nationwide. Ethiopia is one of the world’s most significant coffee-producing areas and exporters, with an annual output of 600,000 tons. Nearly half of it is consumed domestically, and the other half is exported, accounting for a considerable share of the global market.
In recent years, the Chinese coffee market has expanded at an astonishing rate. With the younger generation of consumers pursuing a better quality of life and changing their consumption habits, coffee has increasingly become an indispensable part of people’s daily life. The size of China’s coffee consumption market has maintained a growth rate of approximately 20% in recent years, and the number of coffee shops has been increasing. My hometown Shanghai has been the city with the most coffee shops for three consecutive years, surpassing London, New York, and Tokyo.
Driven by increasing supply and demand, cooperation between China and Ethiopia in coffee has been thriving. In recent years, Ethiopian coffee has become more and more popular in the Chinese market, with exports to China growing at a rate of 27% per year. Among Chinese consumers’ love for coffee culture, Ethiopian premium coffee has found a broader stage. Young Chinese people are keen to try different origins and flavors of coffee, and they are particularly fond of the unique taste of Ethiopian coffee. Small coffee beans have traveled across oceans, becoming an important bond of friendship between China and Ethiopia. Just as the Maritime Silk Road brought tea and porcelain to the East African coast, today Ethiopian coffee is entering households across China. The two-way exchange of coffee and tea is bringing the two countries’ cultures and people closer.
The above cooperation aligns perfectly with the direction advocated by the “Partnership Action for Agriculture and Livelihoods” proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) Beijing Summit in September this year. It will undoubtedly promote China-Africa cooperation in agriculture, boost Ethiopia’s agricultural modernization, create more jobs, increase farmers’ income, and enable the people of Ethiopian to walk together with us on the road to prosperity.
Before coming to Ethiopia, I worked in Myanmar for over five years, supporting local coffee farmers, especially those in highland areas, through the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Fund and other means to help Myanmar’s coffee industry become industrialized and boost its exports. After visiting Yirgacheffe, my colleagues and I saw even more clearly that there is broad scope for cooperation between China and Ethiopia in the field of specialty agriculture like coffee. Ethiopia’s rich civilization, abundant resources, and favorable geographical location can be fully transformed into powerful drivers for development. Coffee cooperation between China and Ethiopia will undoubtedly write a more vivid chapter. On the journey towards modernization, China will always be a partner with Ethiopia.
Chen Hai is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of The People’s Republic of China to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
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