ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — A Chinese company has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) to establish an integrated coffee industrial park in Ethiopia, in a move aimed at expanding coffee processing, value addition, and exports from the world’s birthplace of coffee.
The agreement was signed by Huichuan Yongyu Supply Chain Management Service Co., Ltd. and the EIC following discussions on investment opportunities in Ethiopia’s coffee sector, particularly in processing and production of higher-value coffee products.
EIC Deputy Commissioner Dagato Kumbe said Ethiopia has significant potential in the global coffee market, noting that the country generated more than $3 billion in coffee export earnings during the 2018 Ethiopian fiscal year. However, he said much of Ethiopia’s coffee exports continue to leave the country as raw beans, limiting opportunities for local value creation.
Dagato described the planned industrial park as an important investment that supports Ethiopia’s strategy of increasing exports of processed coffee products, creating jobs, and strengthening the country’s position in global coffee supply chains.
EIC Deputy Commissioner Zinabu Yirga assured the Chinese company that the commission would provide investment facilitation support, including assistance needed to advance the project and ensure successful implementation.
According to the EIC, Huichuan Chairman Wang Shuiyong said the company has experience operating a coffee processing park in China’s Henan Province since 2019, where it has promoted Ethiopian coffee products in the Chinese market.
Wang said the company intends to expand its involvement in Ethiopia by developing a specialized industrial park focused on coffee processing, packaging, and related activities, allowing more Ethiopian coffee products to reach international consumers with greater added value.
The signing ceremony was attended by officials from China’s Henan Province Foreign Affairs Office and the Economic and Commercial Affairs Office of the Chinese Embassy in Ethiopia, highlighting growing economic cooperation between the two countries.
The investment comes as demand for Ethiopian coffee continues to rise in China, where Ethiopian exporters are increasingly targeting retail, hospitality, and specialty coffee markets.
Ethiopia, widely recognized as the origin of Arabica coffee, has been seeking to move beyond raw commodity exports by encouraging domestic processing and attracting foreign investment into agro-industrial sectors.
Analysts say the planned coffee industrial park could strengthen Ethiopia’s coffee value chain, increase export revenues, and deepen trade ties between Ethiopia and China, one of the country’s key economic partners.
