General situation of Coffee Bean Brands in Ethiopian Market what kind of coffee beans to buy in Ethiopia

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Ethiopia is a landlocked country in northeast Africa, located in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti and Somalia to the east, Sudan and South Sudan to the west, and Kenya to the south. With a population of more than 90 million, Ethiopia is the second most populous country in Africa, after Nigeria. The capital Addis Ababa (Addis Ababa) is the largest city.

In view of per capita income, human resources and economic fragility, the United Nations rated Ethiopia as one of the least developed countries. However, over the past decade, the country's GDP has grown strongly, with an average growth rate of 11 per cent, mainly due to a booming construction industry and an increase in agricultural production. The World Bank expects Ethiopia to remain the fastest-growing country in East Africa in 2018. The government is trying to join the ranks of middle-income countries in the next 10 years.

Ethiopia's economy is mainly supported by agriculture and services, accounting for 36% and 42% of GDP, respectively. Coffee is the country's most important agricultural product, accounting for more than 40% of the country's total exports in 2016. Oilseeds, gold, legumes, potatoes and flowers are other major exports. Ethiopia is located inland and relies on the ports of Djibouti for overseas trade, while Asia and Europe are the largest export markets.

In 2015, Ethiopia adopted its second five-year growth and Transformation Plan (Growth and Transformation Plan) to implement appropriate economic policies and promote social development, aiming to achieve an average annual real GDP growth rate of at least 11.2% by 2020. In addition to increasing export earnings in the footwear and clothing industries, the Government has also actively developed a number of low-tech industries, including agricultural processing, meat processing, and leather and leather products. Since 1992, Ethiopia has adopted a managed floating exchange rate system. In October 2017, the National Bank of Ethiopia devalued the country's currency by 15 per cent in order to revive exports and improve competitiveness. The bank has also relaxed foreign exchange controls to allow exporters to obtain foreign exchange credit and allow them to retain up to 30 per cent of export foreign exchange earnings (10 per cent in the past).

Ethiopia relies heavily on imported machinery and consumer goods. More than 60% of the country's imports come from Asia, half of which come from China. Ethiopia actively uses its abundant supply of cheap labour to develop manufacturing. Textiles and clothing, leather shoes, leather products, horticulture and industrial parks are all important.

The country also adopts an industrial park development model with ready-to-use facilities to attract foreign direct investment. The Ethiopian Investment Committee is the country's official body aimed at attracting investment. Over the past year, Ethiopia has been very successful in attracting foreign direct investment. Cumulative foreign direct investment in the country reached $13.7 billion in 2016, more than tripling from $4.2 billion in 2010.

China is Ethiopia's largest trading partner, and bilateral relations have flourished over the past decade. Cumulative direct investment from China increased more than tenfold from $109 million in 2007 to $1.13 billion in 2015 and to more than $2 billion in 2016. China's direct investment is important in infrastructure development, telecommunications, energy and manufacturing.

With the assistance of China, Ethiopia built its first highway in 2014. The railway project in Addis Ababa is also heavily funded by Chinese capital. Chinese companies are also actively developing the country's industrial parks, with Chinese construction companies winning bids for a number of industrial parks in Addis Ababa and Jimma in early 2017.

Table: trade between Hong Kong and Ethiopia

[1] according to the World Bank classification, the per capita gross national income (GNI) of low-and middle-income countries is between $1026 and $4035.