Overview the History of Coffee Trading System in southwest Ethiopia (Jimma) since 1950s

Abstract

This article is meant to reconstruct the history of coffee trading system in   Jimma since 1950s”. The main objective of the paper is also to reveal the coffee trading system in Jimma since 1950s to the present coffee trading rule image. It is to know how the system positively or negatively affects the producers and traders with comparing the previous coffee trading rule, the present legal and practical problems that need to be solved and the positive will promoted. Coffee is the most important commodity to the Ethiopian economy. The life’s of many Ethiopian farmers are directly or indirectly depends on coffee production and marketing system. Moreover, about more than 60% of the Ethiopian foreign earnings is come from this commodity. In return, realizing the unique role of the coffee in the socio- economic life of the country, Ethiopia has put in the place of legal system that to governs the industry since early 1950s.  South west Ethiopia in general and Jimma in particularly is endowed with environment suitable for producing high quality for coffee beans and convenient for coffee trade. By the beginning of the 20^thce, the Jimma area was started to benefit greatly from coffee production for export. This  paper is present to assess coffee trading system in Jimma from 1950s (After the establishment of National Coffee Board of Ethiopia) up to 2008, a new law “The coffee Quality Control and Marketing Proclamation” (The new model Ethiopia Commodity Exchange). In addition in this paper the history of coffee trade chain between different actors and the present coffee trade system were discussed in detail.

Keywords: Collector (sebsabies), Dried pulp coffee (jenf), Red cherry (Key eshet), Suppliers (Akrabies), Auction