Ethiopia earned USD 1.16 billion from coffee exports in the first four months of the 2026/27 fiscal year (July–October). That is USD 157.2 million more than in the same period last year, according to the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority.

The country shipped 167.8 thousand tons of coffee in the period, up 24.6 thousand tons from a year earlier. Adugna Debella (PhD), the Authority’s Director General, said in a statement that the results reflect the country’s efforts to strengthen market access and improve export competitiveness. He thanked staff and stakeholders for what he called “remarkable milestones.”

Volume did most of the work

The Authority’s figures point to earnings of about USD 1.0 billion from 143.2 thousand tons in July–October 2025. On that basis, export volume grew about 17.2% year on year and earnings rose about 15.7%.

Because volume grew faster than revenue, the average export price fell. Ethiopian coffee sold for roughly USD 6,910 per ton in the latest four months, compared with about USD 7,000 a year earlier, a drop of a little over 1%. Nearly all of the revenue growth came from higher volume.

A slower start than last year

This year’s growth is well below last year’s early pace. The coffee sector earned USD 762.75 million in the first three months of 2025/26, a 47 percent increase on the same period a year before. By the end of the first half of that year, Ethiopia had exported 200,000 tons and earned 1.35 billion dollars.

That growth reached a record. Ethiopia earned $3 billion from coffee exports in 2025/26, up from $2.65 billion in 2024/25, an increase of about $350 million. The first four months of 2026/27 already bring in close to 39% of that total.

Coffee’s weight in the export basket

Coffee is still central to Ethiopia’s foreign-exchange earnings. The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration has set an export revenue target of $13.4 billion for 2026/27, 26 percent above the $10.7 billion recorded in 2025/26. Coffee made up about 28 percent of total export earnings last year.

That reliance also carries risk. In 2025/26, gold and coffee together generated 8.6 billion dollars, 78.2 percent of the country’s total export earnings. Analysts have pointed to this as a sign that Ethiopia’s foreign-exchange sources are not diversified. With average prices already slightly lower, the year’s coffee earnings will depend heavily on volumes holding up through the main harvest season.

The government has set longer-term goals for the sector. A new five-year strategy aims to double coffee earnings to US$6bn by 2031 by raising yields and developing value chains.