The 2024/25 Ethiopian coffee harvest is going strong so we reached out to our Sucafina colleagues —Kirubel Girma, Trader and Operations Manager and Petros Batiso, Field and Projects Coordinator in Ethiopia to get their insights on what to expect this season and to learn more about our latest offers.
Here’s a quick rundown of what they shared with us:
- The 2024/25 Ethiopian coffee harvest is looking promising with a projected production of 8.5 million bags—500,000 more than last year.
- Key regions like Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are seeing on-cycle* production, contributing to both increased volume and quality.
- Regulatory changes around currency exchange and pricing are causing some short-term fluctuations but there’s hope they’ll lead to better conditions for farmers in the long run.
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Harvest Outlook: Volume and Quality
The forecast for Ethiopia’s 2024/25 harvest is positive with an expected total production of 8.5 million bags—half a million more than last season.
This increase is largely due to ideal weather and natural production cycles. Most growing regions saw excellent rainfall with little stress on coffee trees. While some parts of Djimma and Lekempti are expected to see a small production dip (5–10%) due to being off-cycle, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe are on-cycle, meaning we should see both a boost in volume and quality. Expectations overall are looking strong.
Quality-wise, things are also shaping up well. One early hurdle was unexpected rainfall in mid-altitude areas (1,600–1,900 meters) that hit during the drying stage on raised beds. This could impact quality in some regions, though it’s still too soon to tell. However, higher-altitude areas like Yirgacheffe, Sidamo and Guji started their harvest later in November and didn’t have the same issues, so their coffees should be right on track. Overall, the harvest is progressing as expected.
Ethiopia's Green Legacy Initiative is Bearing Fruit
Ethiopia’s ambitious reforestation effort, the Green Legacy Initiative, might also be playing a role in the stronger production outlook. Launched in 2019, this national push aims to restore degraded land, improve soil health and build climate resilience. Since then, around 25 billion seedlings—including coffee, shade trees and fruit trees like avocado, mango, apple and papaya—have been planted to support soil health and reduce erosion.
The expansion of coffee-growing areas, combined with a focus on sustainable farming, is helping drive this season’s growth.
Regulatory and Market Changes
A major shift for Ethiopian coffee over the past year has been the floating of the Ethiopian Birr (ETB), which led to a 110% devaluation. Before July 29, 2024, the government fixed the exchange rate, but now it’s market-driven. While this change is expected to help stabilize the economy in the long run, it’s already having an impact on trade.
At the same time, the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) is rolling out a new pricing system aimed at making things fairer for farmers. In the past, domestic coffee prices often ran higher than international ones due to government pricing policies. Now, prices are updated weekly based on the New York Arabica Coffee Price (C), Ethiopia’s exchange rate and other key market factors.
While the goal is to level the playing field, exporters say the new system hasn’t fully adjusted yet and is still creating pricing volatility.
Partners and Offerings
Our parent company, Sucafina, works with various supply chain partners in Ethiopia, including Dumerso, Sookoo and Testi, who are deeply involved in supporting coffee-growing communities. Many of these businesses are family-run and deeply rooted in their communities. This year, we’re excited to bring you coffees from these long-term partnerships, and we can’t wait to share our latest offers.
To learn about our Ethiopia offers, reach out to your Relationship Coffee Manager!
*Coffee trees have natural production/yield fluctuation cycles. “On-cycle" refers to a year when a coffee tree is producing a normal or higher yield. Conversely, "off-cycle" refers to a year in the natural cycle when the tree produces significantly fewer cherries.
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