Ethiopia has achieved a historic milestone in its coffee industry, generating more than $3 billion in export revenue for the first time in the country’s history. According to Ethiopian News Agency and Xinhua, the record earnings were achieved during the 2025/26 fiscal year, making coffee the nation’s largest foreign exchange earner and accounting for more than 30% of Ethiopia’s total export revenue. Agriculture Minister Addisu Arega described the achievement as the result of coordinated efforts by farmers, cooperatives, exporters, investors, and government institutions across the coffee value chain.
The landmark performance builds on a strong growth trajectory in recent years. Coffee export earnings increased from approximately $2.65 billion in the previous fiscal year to over $3 billion, driven by higher production, improved bean quality, stronger traceability systems, and sustained global demand for Ethiopia’s premium Arabica coffee. Officials also credited ongoing agricultural reforms and investments in productivity for helping the country surpass its ambitious export target ahead of the close of the fiscal year.
To sustain the momentum, the Ethiopian government has unveiled a new five-year National Coffee Development Programme aimed at doubling annual coffee export earnings to $6 billion by 2031. The strategy includes expanding the use of high-yield, disease-resistant coffee varieties, modernising agricultural research, improving farmer support services, and increasing average yields from about 9 quintals per hectare to 21 quintals per hectare. Ethiopia, widely recognised as the birthplace of Arabica coffee, relies on the crop for the livelihoods of more than 6 million smallholder farmers, making the sector central to both rural incomes and national economic growth.
For Ethiopia, the record-breaking export performance reinforces the growing impact of broader economic and agricultural reforms aimed at boosting export competitiveness and foreign exchange earnings. Analysts say continued investment in quality improvement, productivity, and value addition could further strengthen Ethiopia’s position as Africa’s largest coffee producer and one of the world’s leading premium coffee exporters, while supporting long-term economic resilience.
