The South Ethiopia Regional State has exceeded its annual coffee supply target, delivering more than 38,000 tons of coffee to the central market over the past 11 months, surpassing its initial goal of 34,254 tons.

Ato Amanuel Biru, Director General of the Regional Coffee and Spices Authority, said the region’s performance reflects coordinated efforts to streamline production, enhance market access, and combat illegal trade in the coffee sector.

"Extensive work has been done to ensure that coffee from our region reaches the central market," Ato Amanuel stated. "In addition to exceeding our planned target, we have focused on maintaining quality and addressing challenges such as illicit trading."

He noted that the region has prioritized building market linkages to ensure coffee producers benefit more directly from their crops. A key part of this strategy has been reducing the influence of intermediaries by enabling farmers to sell their harvest at authorized marketing centers.

Currently, 543 primary marketing centers have been established across the region to support this effort. Moreover, cooperative unions are actively collecting coffee from member associations and facilitating its delivery to the central market.

Ato Amanuel also highlighted the growing role of large-scale coffee farmers in the region. More than 850 farmers with two or more hectares of coffee land are now directly participating in the export market, either independently or in collaboration with coffee exporters and processing industries.

Source: Fana BC