By our staff reporter
The International Trade Centre (ITC), a United Nations agency focused on assisting small businesses, is collaborating with the TRAIDE Foundation and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Their joint effort aims to promote direct and long-term trade connections between Dutch buyers of green coffee and coffee producers in Ethiopia.
The TRAIDE Foundation, which receives funding from the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acts as a facilitator for companies and stakeholders in Africa. They connect these groups with financing solutions and have a particular focus on the Dutch market, although they are not limited to engaging exclusively with Dutch companies. Currently, TRAIDE operates in Ethiopia and Rwanda, maintaining local offices in both countries.
Recently, ITC and TRAIDE led a tour for Dutch buyers in Ethiopia. The purpose of the tour was to allow selected green coffee buyers to meet Ethiopian coffee producers who are part of ITC’s sustainable agribusiness Alliances for Action initiative. This initiative operates under the Netherlands Trust Fund V programme in Ethiopia, which is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The objective of the tour was to establish relationships between buyers and producers, laying the foundation for long-term trade connections based on trust and mutual growth. This approach aims to benefit both buyers and suppliers, ensuring sustainability in the long run.
During the tour, the buyers gathered in Addis Ababa before embarking on a two-day visit to coffee farms and cooperatives belonging to the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers’ Cooperative Union and the Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union. They had the opportunity to examine coffee trees and cherries during the peak of the harvest season, observe the washing and drying process that transforms cherries into green beans, and engage in discussions with union and cooperative managers. Additionally, topics such as the upcoming European Union Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), the Deforestation Act, and concepts of direct and fair trade and specialty coffee were addressed.
The tour concluded with a networking event in Addis Ababa, bringing together the buyers, the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, ITC-Alliances for Action’s network of Ethiopian coffee producers, and other Ethiopian coffee stakeholders. The event garnered significant participation, and any subsequent commercial relationships will be jointly monitored by ITC and TRAIDE through the NTFV programme.
“A relationship built on mutual trust creates a sustainable business environment and fosters a caring connection that goes beyond mere profit-making,” said Erkehun Woldegiorgis Hirbaye, General Manager of the Yirgacheffe Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia.
“First-hand experience is the most convincing way for our buyers to understand the realities on the ground. Seeing is believing,” said Dejene Dadi, General Manager of Oromia Coffee Farmers Cooperative Union in Ethiopia.
“As a coffee trader, it is the dream of all coffee lovers to visit Ethiopia, the country where coffee trees grow naturally in its beautiful forests. Having direct experience and establishing connections with farmers and producer unions of some of the world’s best coffees was an incredibly insightful experience. I am immensely grateful to TRAIDE and ITC for giving me this opportunity and facilitating these connections,” said Marco Roberti, Green Coffee Trader at Daarnhouwer, Netherlands.
