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DE RUEHNR #1179/01 0731107
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P 141107Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY NAIROBI
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RUEHDR/AMEMBASSY DAR ES SALAAM 5172
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RUEHLS/AMEMBASSY LUSAKA 4094
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 8690

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
STATE FOR AA/AFR, AFR/DP, AFR/SD, AFR/EA, AFR/EGAT/EG 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O.12958: N/A 
TAGS: OTRA
SUBJECT:  FOURTH ANNUAL AFRICAN FINE COFFEES 
CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION, ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA, 
FEBRUARY 15 - 17 2007. 
 
 
¶1. With USAID support, the largest-ever coffee 
conference and exhibition in Africa was held from 
February 15-17 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 
approximately 600 participants representing 40 
countries from around the world.  The Fourth Annual 
Africa Fine Coffees Conference and Exhibition was 
organized by the Eastern Africa Fine Coffees 
Association (EAFCA) with technical and financial 
support from USAID East Africa?s Regional 
Agricultural Trade Expansion Support (RATES) program 
and the USAID Ethiopia Mission. 
 
¶2. In addition to over 450 regional coffee 
processors, traders and producers, the annual 
conference attracted over 150 international buyers 
representing major coffee companies from the US, 
Europe, Asia and Africa.  Luminaries included Ernesto 
Illy, the founder of Illy Coffee Company of Italy, 
Mr. Tatsushi Ueshima, the president of Ueshima Coffee 
Company (UCC) Coffee Company of Japan, Mr. Dub Hay, 
the senior vice president of Starbucks Coffee Company 
and many other senior coffee executives and buyers. 
 
¶3. Glenn Anders, the USAID Ethiopia Mission Director, 
delivered remarks at the conference?s opening 
ceremony.  He was quoted by local and international 
press. Mr. Anders noted that USAID is investing over 
one million U.S. dollars a year in Ethiopia to 
increase the technical skills of coffee farmers and 
sellers. The Mission provides a broad range of 
assistance, including support to improve production 
techniques and implement environmentally friendly 
post-harvest techniques.  USAID Ethiopia has 
guaranteed nearly 6 million U.S. dollars in new 
credit over the last 18 months to help coffee 
cooperatives and agro-processors build their 
businesses. 
 
¶4. During the keynote address delivered by Dub Hay, 
Senior Vice President of Starbucks, it was announced 
that Starbucks will implement a six-point plan to 
double purchases of African coffees over the next two 
years. Starbucks currently buys 300 million pounds of 
coffee a year with six percent coming from Africa. 
The Seattle-based company will establish a help 
center in East Africa this year to counsel farmers on 
growing high quality coffee. Starbucks also announced 
that they will dedicate another 1 million U.S. 
dollars to providing small loans to farmers in East 
Africa. The company has already issued loans worth 
9.5 million U.S. Dollars to farmers through non- 
governmental organizations. 
 
¶5. With RATES support, EAFCA has evolved from a 
fledgling, donor-funded organization to a self-funded 
industry-driven private sector trade association. The 
conference is now fully funded through private sector 
support.  This year?s conference generated over 
270,000 U.S. Dollars in net revenues for EAFCA 
through conference registration, exhibition booth 
rentals, and corporate sponsorships. Corporations 
such as Ethiopian Airlines contributed over 80,000 
U.S. Dollars in direct corporate sponsorships of 
conference, educational and social events. 
 
¶6. The associated exhibition attracted over 52 booths 
ranging from displays of coffee equipment and private 
companies showcasing their coffees to booths 
highlighting local and regional coffee producer 
organizations. The conference and exhibition were 
both held in the UN Conference Complex in Addis, 
allowing easy networking. Organizers have estimated 
that over 20 million U.S. Dollars in contracts will 
be signed as a direct result of the conference. 
 
¶7. Other conference highlights included the first 
ever ?outcry auction?, generating prices of 5.00 U.S. 
 
 
Dollars/pound for certain lots of premium Ethiopian 
coffees compared to an average price of 1.45 U.S. 
Dollars for similar coffees sold through the 
traditional Ethiopian coffee auction system. Buyers 
were especially impressed with Ethiopian sun dried 
?naturals?. The auction highlighted the ability of 
specially selected high quality coffees to generate 
much higher prices for producers. 
 
¶8. Coffees for the auction were pre-selected through 
a national-level cupping competition supported by 
USAID Ethiopia. In activities conducted around the 
city, EAFCA held its annual regional ?Taste of 
Harvest? cupping competition to select the 50 best 
coffees from the region. Winners were announced at 
the closing ceremony and these coffees will be 
highlighted at upcoming international coffee trade 
shows. This effort was supported by CQI Coffee Corps, 
who provided 5 volunteers to serve as international 
judges.  In addition, USAID Ethiopia sponsored the 
first-ever Ethiopia National Barista Championship 
with the winner crowned during the conference. The 
winner will represent Ethiopia at the World Barista 
Championship (WBC) to be held in Japan later this 
year. 
 
¶9. To promote buyer-seller linkages, USAID Ethiopia 
sponsored a cocktail reception for representative 
producers and exporters of Ethiopian coffee, buyers 
from leading coffee consuming nations and their 
respective Ambassadors to Ethiopia, and Government of 
Ethiopia officials. This provided an opportunity for 
Ambassadors from countries such as Germany, Japan, 
Spain and the United States to meet and exchange 
views with their leading national coffee enterprises 
who attended the EAFCA conference. 
 
¶10. The U.S. Ambassador, Donald Yamamoto, USAID 
Ethiopia Mission Director, and other USAID and U.S. 
Embassy officials also met with representatives of 
Starbucks and the Government of Ethiopia to discuss 
the coffee trademark issue and Starbuck?s plans to 
support the coffee sector in Ethiopia and East 
Africa. 
 
¶11. Following the conference, EAFCA conducted a 
series of training courses open to EAFCA members and 
local coffee industry participants. Attendees 
received training in roasting, cupping, brewing and 
barista techniques. In addition, a course was held on 
futures trading and hedging partially sponsored by 
the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT) who provided the 
trainer, Ms. Judith Gaines, a renowned coffee market 
analyst. 
 
¶12. Building upon the momentum of the EAFCA 
Conference, USAID Ethiopia launched the Ethiopian 
Coffee Forum on February 20, 2007 with over 50 
stakeholders from the coffee industry (producers, 
processors, exporters, government officials, donors). 
The objective of the Coffee Forum is to conceive and 
collectively implement a market-driven vision and 
medium-term action plan to achieve the full potential 
of Ethiopia?s coffee sector. USAID Ethiopia is also 
pursuing a Global Development Alliance (GDA) with the 
U.S. coffee industry to support this action plan. 
 
¶13. Today, thanks to USAID?s support to the Eastern 
Africa Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA), specialty 
coffee sales from the region have grown by an average 
of 25 percent annually over the last four years. 
During the 2005/06 coffee season, over 162 million 
U.S. dollars of specialty coffees (exceeding 80 
points on the SCAA scale) were exported from nine 
EAFCA countries compared to a 2001 baseline total of 
60 million U.S. dollars. This is a very good 
indication of the region?s growing reputation for 
 
 
producing some of the best coffees in the world. 
 
¶14. For more information about the conference please 
visit www.eafca.org ? www.worldswildestcoffee.com ? 
www.ratescenter.org; or contact Stephanie Wilcock 
(swilcock@usaid.gov), Kenneth Kambona 
(kkambona@usaid.gov), Mike Klesh (mklesh@usaid.gov). 
 
RANNEBERGER