Ethiopian Coffee in the UK: Creating links and partnerships between Coffee Roasters in Ethiopia and the United Kingdom

 Thursday, 8^th April 2021 | 12:00 (London, BST) | 14:00 (Addis Ababa, BST +2)

Online Webinar via Zoom

Participation in this webinar is by invitation only. Register by completing the form at the bottom of this page with your full name, affiliation, and contact information.

Background 

The birthplace of Arabica coffee, Ethiopia revered for its beans. It produces some of the best single-origin coffees in the world.

Coffee is a valuable crop to Ethiopia’s economy – over four million farmers make their living from the crop and more than 10 million people deal, directly or indirectly, with the sector in transporting, trading, processing, roasting and exporting. About half of the coffee produced is for domestic consumption.

Although Ethiopia is the fifth-largest coffee-producing nation in the world, and the highest-producing nation in Africa, it has not yet reaped the benefits it deserves.

The largest single coffee category imported into the UK is green coffee. But most of the imports to the UK from the EU are primarily roasted.

With more than 400 coffee roasters based in the UK, the market opportunity for Ethiopian coffee roasters is huge. With this in mind, Ethiopia expects to benefit more from coffee by increasing production and productivity and by focusing more on value-adding.

About the Webinar

Organised by the Ethiopian Embassy in London, this webinar aims at promoting Ethio-UK relations in the coffee sector and will provide opportunities for stakeholders to discuss ways of tapping into the huge potential in the sector.

The webinar also aims to:

• increase and create business linkages between Ethiopian and UK coffee buyers
• create business linkages between Ethiopian and UK coffee roasters
• increase the market share of value-added Ethiopian coffee to the UK
• identify bottlenecks and challenges in the sector, especially in relation to the import/export of roasted coffee, and offer insights on how to alleviate these barriers

Programme

Welcome: Mr. Beyene Gebremeskel, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ethiopia, London

Opening Remarks: H.E. Mr. Teferi Melesse Desta, Ambassador of Ethiopia to the United Kingdom

Keynote Speakers:

• Dr. Adugna Debela, Director-General, Ethiopian Tea and Coffee Authority
• The Rt Hon Lord Michael Bates, British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Ethiopia (TBC)

Session I: Export Potential for Ethiopian Coffee Roasters  

Moderator: Professor John Struthers, Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland

Panellists:

• Minilik Habtu, President, Ethiopian Coffee Roasters Association
• Gizat Worku, General Manager, Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association
• Ahadu Wubshet, Founder, Moyee Coffee Ethiopia

Q & A

Session II: Opportunities and Challenges for Ethiopian Roasted Coffee in the UK Market

Moderator: Professor John Struthers, Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland 

Panellists:

• Denis Seudieu, Chief Economist, International Coffee Organisation
• Paul Rooke, Executive Director, British Coffee Association
• Jeremy Lefroy, Former British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Ethiopia
• Phil Schluter, Managing Director, Olam Specialty Coffee Europe
• Jeremy Torz, Founder, Union Coffee Roasters (TBC)

Q & A

Session III: Route to Market – Transport and Logistics

Moderator: Professor John Struthers, Honorary Consul for Ethiopia in Scotland

 Panellists:

• Michael Yohannes, UK and Ireland Director, Ethiopian Airlines

Q & A

Concluding Remarks

• Mr Beyene Gebremeskel, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Ethiopia, London

Registration

Participation in the webinar is by invitation only. Please complete the form below or email our events team at  events@ethioembassy.org.uk.