African Coffee Association officials urge traders to export coffee under special treatment and to reduce the export of coffee under traditional treatment.

The 20th African quality Coffee Conference and Exhibition was held from February 6 to 10 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to promote the export of specially treated coffee from Africa, Xinhua reported. The event brought together more than 800 regional and international coffee roasters, traders, producers and buyers to discuss policy, sustainability and international coffee markets. While coffee from Africa is becoming increasingly popular among consumers around the world, officials from the African Coffee Association (AFCA) urged African coffee traders to promote the export of specially treated coffee and to reduce the export of traditionally treated coffee to international markets. According to Ethiopia's current coffee bean export policy, special treatment coffee beans are required to double the export price of traditional coffee beans.

Amir Hamza, chairman of AFCA, said in an interview with Xinhua that the biggest problem facing Africa is poor marketing methods and the export of ordinary coffee, which is a problem that AFCA is trying to solve. Africa has the best coffee but no decent sales, making it impossible for most coffee growers to get the right price. African coffee exporters need to focus on special treatments for coffee and apply better marketing strategies to increase their coffee export revenues.

African coffee export companies are also encouraged to strengthen trade promotion and expand markets while focusing on improving quality and processing to meet the needs of import markets and to build brands for sustainable exports. After raw coffee beans are exported from Africa, they will be mixed and baked by companies outside the African continent, particularly from Europe and the United States, and then sold as coffee products from other sources in the Middle East and the far East. The African coffee industry is also urged to shift its focus to improving product quality and adapting to market taste trends, particularly in the major coffee consumer markets, which account for half of global coffee imports, including the United States and the European Union.

According to the executive director of AFCA, coffee growers in Africa lack the necessary knowledge and technology to produce high-quality coffee. African traders are therefore urged to cooperate and establish production chains to adopt modern technologies and to promote the transition from raw coffee to processed coffee exports. Coffee production and exports in Africa were affected by rising inflation geopolitical and fertilizer costs and coffee exporting companies should closely monitor the market to develop appropriate business strategies. Finally, coffee buyers and governments are called on to support farmers' knowledge and skills in coffee agronomic practice, as well as to help them obtain appropriate product prices in the international market.

According to AFCA, non-coffee producing African countries, such as Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa, will be the most important destinations for the African coffee market. And with regard to the upcoming EU deforestation regulations, Africa imports more coffee than exports, and the chairman believes that the regulation will have less impact on African coffee exports. In the future, African producing countries face the challenges of climate change, access to investment, low production and market access.