We are all currently operating in a different environment than what we are used to. Courier companies and postal services are taking longer to get our documents and samples to their destinations; customs officers appear to be more fastidious than usual and banks are taking much longer than usual to execute transfers and LCs… all […]
The Ethiopia Government declared a State of Emergency this week, whereas in itself this did not bring any changes to daily life in Ethiopia it paves the way for the Government to impose stricter restrictions on the free movement of people and allows the authorities to order the population to obey rules by force if […]
We have been rather keen to get coffee on boats in the past 2 weeks. However, we are being frustrated by shipping lines closing containers out because they have no space even when containers are positioned for shipment. Normally this is a busy time of the year for Ethiopia shipments and the current pandemic is […]
The number of people testing positive for Coronavirus stands at 12, up from 6 the previous day. The government has started to take social isolation measures, government employees are (as much as possible) to work from home; at ECX the number of players allowed to participate in the daily trading has been restricted to reduce […]
Apologies for the delay, these are difficult times as we all struggle to adapt to a new reality! There are now several cases of Covid 19 in Ethiopia and it seems that we are in a Déjà vu once again, as everywhere else, we expect the situation to worsen. As far as the Ethiopia Coffee […]
Ethiopia shippers are increasingly frustrated by the minimum price policy and export sales and registrations have reduced sharply as the levels are unaffordable for most buyers; one exporter has been left reeling when not allowed to register a sale at 3.45 c/lb because the Minimum Registration Price was 3.60! No one seems to fully understand […]
Minimum price rules are creating havoc, we have had to register Sidamo 2 contracts as Guji 2 because the min price for the latter is realistic and lower than the former, which really does not make any sense at all. All week D5 min price has been higher than L5, Yirgacheffe lower than Sidamo and […]
There is an increasing liquidity problem in the Ethiopian banking sector; it has been reported that construction companies are facing real constraints in sourcing financing for infrastructure and other projects; some exporters with commitments to overseas buyers also report that they are facing financing restrictions to acquire coffee to fulfil their contracts; rumours of defaults […]
Delays, defaults and poor quality, all these issues have started manifesting themselves recently; the low volumes flowing from interior to ECX are hampering usual activity. Other than in the South we are not expecting a lower volume this year however the normal flow continues to be restricted. Sales activity is also limited as prices asked […]
With many exporters at AFCA this week it gives us an opportunity to catch up and discuss the current situation in Ethiopia; the picture is not very pretty for both Washed coffees and Naturals for different reasons; Volumes for Washed at ECX continue to disappoint and increasingly the reason being given is that a chunky […]
