Another busy week

Increased availability of Naturals and a terminal market above 250 usc/lb again propelled business to get concluded this week. There seems to be reduced interest in Washed coffees as prices are deemed rather high. Naturals at significant discounts to Brazil prices continue to attract attention and since trading within Ethiopia is now allowed, activity intensified. We believe that there have been very significant export registrations this week. Coffee is starting to arrive in Addis for milling in a more meaningful quantity and we expect to see many samples in the coming weeks.

There are increased concerns surrounding the quality of Washed coffee, particularly from the South (Sidamo, Guji and Yirgacheffe), additionally shippers are complaining that they are struggling to sell these qualities to overseas buyers due to high asking prices, which are a result of unchecked cherry prices paid during the harvest.

According to the Centre for Global Development, China’s two largest overseas development banks invested $23 billion in infrastructure projects on the continent between 2007 and 2020. This is $8 billion higher than the combined contributions of the other top eight lenders, which include the World Bank, African Development Bank, and US and European development institutions. One wonders when time to payback comes, what this will look like!

News on the fighting raging in the North of the country between Tigray Rebels and the National Army was been nearly zero. The only news on the internal conflict this week comes from the West of the country where Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels attacked trucks carrying fuel supplies for a Sugar refinery in Horro Guduru.

Birr 50.62 = USD 1

Have a good weekend.