Ethiopia’s robust coffee culture can stir Africa trade

Habesha Cultural Restaurant and bar in Addis Ababa. Prospects for trade in Ethiopia are strong because ofsecurity and economic growth which has allowed for affluent and growing consumer class. PHOTO | COURTESY. 

By  CANUTE WASWA

In Summary

• Let’s push for ‘super bloc’ that will forge a common market spanning the continent from the Cape to Cairo.

Years ago, I was fortunate enough to be introduced to Ethiopian food. It was at a Habesha restaurant in Adams Arcade.

I clearly recall my first pull of a round stretchy pancake-like injera bread, beautifully coloured mounds of what looked to me like curries, and a massive circular tin plate from which we all grabbed and chewed down.

The flavours and communal style of eating was cool and unusual, like nothing I had experienced before. I could not wait to visit the land of this amazing dish.

Today, I’m writing from Hawassa, Eastern Ethiopia. Ethiopia has a diverse mix of ethnic and linguistic backgrounds. It is a country with more than 80 different ethnic groups, each with its own language, culture, custom and tradition.

One of the most significant areas of Ethiopian culture is its literature, which is represented predominantly by translations from ancient Greek and Hebrew religious texts into the ancient language Ge’ez, modern Amharic and Tigrinya languages.

But I would like to talk about coffee and cotton. More than 90 per cent of Ethiopia’s coffee is organically produced. The highland Arabica coffee is unmatched, particularly in flavour and aroma.

The textile industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the country. There are more than 14 state-owned and private major textile and garment factories. It employs around 30,000 workers and constitutes a share of 36 per cent of the entire manufacturing industry.

So why don’t we have Ethiopian coffee houses and textile in Kenya? It is just because of one thing, history. During the colonial period, the economies of most African countries were designed to supply cheap raw materials to firms based in the former colonial powers.

Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire produced cocoa, Zimbabwe and Malawi produced tobacco, Kenya and Tanzania produced coffee and tea.

After attaining independence, African countries failed to address this problem. The trade structure inherited from the colonial times remained largely unchanged.

To date, Africa remains the most fragmented continent in the world with 54 countries with numerous border crossings.

Intra-trade among African countries is very low. Last year, it stood at 10 per cent. The level of intra-trade among African countries compares unfavourably with other regions of the world.

Intra-trade among European countries is around 70 per cent, 52 per cent for Asian countries, 50 per cent for North American countries and 26 per cent for South American countries.

Africa’s share in world trade is also small. It was less than three per cent last year. This is hardly surprising considering that the most integrated regions in the world are also the most competitive at the global level. The rising share of Asian countries in world trade underscores this point.

Whereas Africa’s trade with external partners, in particular with emerging economies is growing very fast, trade amongst African countries is stagnant. Last year, the top trading partner regions for Africa were the European Union, Asia and the United States.

Africa’s trade is overly dependent on a narrow range of primary products. In 2010, fuels and mining products constituted 66 per cent of Africa’s total merchandise exports.

Our governments like the pomp and flair of launching big regional trade blocs, but the trade pacts have been criticised for their ineffectiveness and dissociation with the reality on the ground.

In most cases, there’s a big mismatch between political ambitions, and the economic realities that African countries face. Case in point: over the past five decades, no less than 14 regional trading blocs have been launched, but the share of intra-African trade has remained modest.

It’s often simply a structural issue; to use the cliché- Africa produces what it doesn’t consume, and consumes what it doesn’t produce.

Ethiopia is the birthplace of coffee. It is also the headquarters of the African Union. I dream of the day we will have our “super bloc” that will forge a common market spanning the continent from the Cape to Cairo. Will you dream with me?

Mr Waswa is a management and HR specialist and managing director of Outdoors Africa. E-mail: waswa@outdoorsafrica.co.ke