Ethiopia and China are looking to deepen their coffee trade, with officials and businesses from both countries exploring stronger supply-chain links, investment, and value addition as demand for specialty coffee continues to grow in China.
The discussions took place during the China-Yunnan and Ethiopia Bilateral Trade Promotion Conference 2026 in Addis Ababa, bringing Ethiopian coffee exporters and government officials together with a delegation of Chinese coffee-importing companies.
The opportunity extends beyond simply increasing shipments of Ethiopian beans. Ethiopia is seeking investment across the coffee value chain, including commercial production, modern processing, roasting, instant coffee, capsule manufacturing and packaging.
Zinabu Yirga, Deputy Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission, said Ethiopia wants Chinese companies to invest in large-scale commercial estates using modern agricultural practices, climate-smart irrigation and digital farm-to-cup traceability. He said such investment could help double crop yields while creating opportunities for technology transfer and industrial development.
China's Yunnan Province offers a complementary opportunity. The province is one of China's major coffee-producing and processing centres, while its domestic coffee market is expanding and increasingly shifting towards higher-quality and deep-processed products.
Yunnan officials said Chinese businesses have growing demand for high-quality Ethiopian green coffee, while its processing infrastructure could support deeper cooperation between the two markets. One proposed model would combine Ethiopian specialty coffee with processing in Yunnan for distribution across China and potentially other international markets.
The push comes as Ethiopia seeks to strengthen its export relationship with China. Ethiopian exports to China reached US$369 million in the 2025/26 fiscal year, according to the country's Trade and Regional Integration office. However, imports from China were nearly US$21 billion, highlighting the need for Ethiopia to expand and diversify its exports.
China's zero-tariff treatment for African exports is also being viewed as an opportunity to lower market-access costs and increase Ethiopian agricultural exports.
NBF Insight
Ethiopia's opportunity in China may ultimately be bigger than selling more green coffee. Connecting Ethiopian production with Chinese capital, processing capacity and consumer demand could allow more value to be captured beyond the farm gate. If investment follows trade, Ethiopia could strengthen its position not only as a leading coffee origin, but as a more competitive coffee-processing and export hub.
