ADDIS ABABA: The European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) will not pose a threat to Ethiopia's coffee export to Europe, according to Adugna Debela, director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA).
The director general's remark came six months before the regulation enters into force, which requires companies selling coffee and other products to European markets to prove that their products have not been grown on lands deforested or degraded after 2020.
"Ethiopian coffee is grown naturally under the shade of trees and this method is incompatible with the EU's regulation," Debela told Xinhua in a recent interview, noting that over 99 percent of coffee farms in Ethiopia are deforestation-free, as confirmed by an international company three years ago.
Under the EUDR, coffee beans entering the European market must also be proven to be legally produced and fully traceable.
Debela said the Ethiopian government has already introduced a digital system to trace coffee beans back to the exact plots where the growers cultivated them.
"We have provided IDs with QR codes for our coffee growers and when customers or buyers scan the code, they can see exactly who grew the coffee, where it was grown, and how it was processed," said Debela, noting that the geo-location and other relevant data gathering of each coffee seller have been completed.
Noting that 90 percent of Ethiopia's coffee production comes from smallholders who grow coffee on less than one hectare of land, the director general indicated that the government had difficulty tracing each grower as per the EU's regulations.
However, he said, with the support of coffee exporting firms, unions, and partner organizations, the geo-location and other relevant information of coffee growers, sellers, and other actors involved in the coffee-production value chain have been established.
"For the reason that Ethiopia's coffee grows in traditional agroforestry systems and has already met the requirements, including the traceability issue, the EUDR will not be a threat to the country's coffee sector," he said.
According to Debela, EU experts and teams are set to come to Ethiopia next month to verify the country's coffee production is deforestation-free and traceable.
Considered as the backbone of Ethiopia's agriculture-led economy, coffee production comprises about a third of its export earnings. The European Union is the biggest market, taking more than 30 percent of Ethiopia's beans, according to the ECTA.
