African Coffee Hopes to “Spread Its Aroma” Across China via the CIIE

At a Glance (China Coffee Network): Xinhua News Agency, Addis Ababa, November 5 (reporters Liu Fangqiang, Chen Shaohua and Wang Ze) — In late October, African coffee entered its ripening season, and a busy harvest scene of coffee cherry picking unfolded across multiple coffee-producing countries in Africa.

Xinhua News Agency, Addis Ababa, November 5 (reporters Liu Fangqiang, Chen Shaohua and Wang Ze) — In late October, African coffee entered its ripening season, and a busy harvest scene of coffee cherry picking unfolded across multiple coffee-producing countries in Africa.

Ethiopia is the largest Arabica coffee producer in Africa, with an annual coffee output of about 600,000 tonnes, and its economy has long been closely tied to its abundant coffee resources.

Since its founding in 2012, AWO Coffee Company, operated by Ethiopian coffee exporter Tesfaye Gabru, has been exporting coffee products to China. As demand from Chinese customers has grown, the company has gradually expanded from mainly exporting green beans to coffee planting, processing and finished-product exports. Last year, AWO Coffee participated in the China International Import Expo (CIIE) for the first time, and Gabru directly felt Chinese consumers’ fondness for Ethiopian coffee.

“At the time, visitors crowded around our booth, and the 100 kilograms of coffee beans we brought were in short supply,” Gabru said. The CIIE helped AWO Coffee establish direct contact with target customers and created favorable conditions for brand promotion. This year, the company plans to continue using the CIIE platform to develop the Chinese market.

Shafi Umer, deputy director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority, said in a recent interview with Xinhua that in the 2025/26 fiscal year ending July 7, China became Ethiopia’s third-largest coffee export market, up from fifth place in the previous fiscal year and seventh two years ago. According to statistics, in the 2025/26 fiscal year, Ethiopia’s total coffee exports to China reached US$347 million, a year-on-year increase of 58%.

This year, coffee from Mauritius, a small island nation in the western Indian Ocean, is participating in the CIIE for the first time. Chamarel Coffee is a Mauritian brand grown locally and made from its own coffee beans, produced through purely manual processing.

“We hope to introduce coffee with Mauritian characteristics into the Chinese market,” said Thomas Leou, business development manager of Chamarel Coffee. He noted that in recent years, China’s coffee consumption has continued to grow, and consumers’ attention to coffee varieties, flavors and origin characteristics has kept rising, creating opportunities for Mauritian coffee to enter the Chinese market.

Leou said that for small exhibitors like Chamarel Coffee, the CIIE can build a bridge to China’s vast market, serving not only as a window to showcase distinctive products but also as an important platform to find partners. “Mauritian coffee looks forward to meeting more Chinese customers and exploring cooperation with high-end restaurants, specialty cafes and coffee roasters.”

Cameroon’s “CIIE luggage” is rich in products, including sesame, shea butter and specialty coffee. This year marks the second time Cameroonian coffee merchant Ismaila has participated in the CIIE, and he looks forward to highlighting high-quality “Robusta” coffee beans to Chinese buyers.

Ismaila told reporters that his experience at the CIIE greatly broadened his business horizons and provided an excellent platform to expand the market for his coffee. “Anyone who participates in the CIIE, whether an individual or an enterprise, can find value in it,” he said. “We hope to establish connections with more Chinese partners this year, especially in areas such as commercialization, product processing and other business cooperation.”

Ismaila thanked China’s zero-tariff initiative for the valuable development opportunities it has brought to African small and medium-sized enterprises. “Thanks to this zero-tariff arrangement, corporate profits have grown and our business development has gained a real driving force,” he said.

As Gabru, Leou and Ismaila gathered at the CIIE venue, the “Four-Leaf Clover,” a growing number of African enterprises are feeling the market opportunities brought by China’s high-level opening up, and such a platform holds tangible value for African developing countries.