Commodity Market Brief - Coffee Production in Africa and the Global Market Situation

Coffee producers in Africa accounted for about 12% of global supply and less than 11% of global exports of the product for the 2009/10 season. These contributions to the global coffee market are almost equal to Indonesia’s, the third largest world producer of the commodity. Notwithstanding the small contribution of African countries to the global coffee market, the commodity constitutes a large proportion of both GDP and exports share in some of the continent’s small economies. For example, in Ethiopia and Rwanda, coffee exports generated about 26% and 22%, respectively, in export revenue in 2009. Particularly notable, coffee production is predominantly produced by small scale farmers who contribute more than 95% of total production in Ethiopia. Therefore global coffee market conditions have important implications for growth and poverty reduction in the country.