Page 58 - #47 English

Culture

Article: Maja Wallengren
Photo: courtesy of Maja Wallengren
Ethiopia is Retaking a Dominant Role

in Coffee Production

Ethiopian coffee, with its thousands of varieties, the world; the birthplace of Arabica coffee is retaking a
has always been popular with consumers across the world. dominant role on the world map of coffee. The largest
Great news to the coffee industry is that the renovation single coffee farm in the world today is not found in the
programs implemented during the last five years are starting top grower Brazil, but in the hilly regions where Coffea
to produce lasting results and production is steadily grow- arabica was initially discovered growing wild in the Ethio-
ing. In Part III of our series on Ethiopia, we analyze how pian forests in the southwestern region of Kaffaover 1,400
the private investment, which is now starting to reach the years ago. Today, the East African country is seeing a boom
industry, is reviving many of the huge formerly state-owned in production as efforts from renovation and replanting of
coffee estates and how Ethiopia is targeting to compete for old farms to the expansion of area are starting to take hold.
the spot as the world’s third largest producing country. From the tiniest smallholder growers to the biggest of the
It’s been a secret for some years in the coffee in- formerly state-owned estates, the volumes produced are
dustry, but what is truly exciting to coffee lovers across surging.
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