Japan close to resuming imports of Ethiopian coffee
Monday February 15 2010
ETHIOPIA, whose coffee exports hit a seven-year low in the month to July 2009 at 133,993 tonnes, appears set to resume exports to Japan, which used to buy 20% of the eastern African nation's coffee but suspended purchases in 2008 due to concerns over the high levels of chemical residues.
Japanese industry officials told The Public Ledger at the Eastern African Fine Coffee Association meeting in Mombasa, Kenya, that Japan was on the verge of resuming imports from Africa's main coffee producer, although additional quality assurance was needed before purchases resumed.
