Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) got coffee laboratory equipment as a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The grant was given to ECX in order to boost the coffee quality inspection and grading system of ECX’s laboratories.

The laboratory devices ECX received are worth 3.5 Million Birr and they are expected to enhance equipping EXC’s coffee laboratories in Hawassa, Jimma and Dilla with the latest technologies and methodologies. This in return will enable the Commodity Exchange to carry out quality assurance.

According to Walta Information Center, the equipments these three laboratories received will enable them to meet international standards and requirement. This in turn will enable ECX to be certified by the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA).

ECX’s central coffee laboratory was certified last year and it was the first African laboratory to meet the standards of SCAA.

Shimelis Habtewold, ECX’s Interim CEO, noted; “The donation of the coffee laboratory equipments will enable ECX to ensure calibrated global compliance with consistency in evaluation and grading of coffee”.

Source: Walta Information Center