Ethiopia earned US$1.16 billion from 167,800 metric tons of coffee exports between July and October 2026, the first four months of its 2026/27 fiscal year, according to Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA) figures reported by StockMarket.et on 13 November. That was US$157.2 million and 24,600 tons more than in the same four months a year earlier, the outlet reported.
By our arithmetic on StockMarket.et's figures, that is a rise of about 15.7% in earnings and about 17.2% in volume, and an average of about US$6.91 a kilogram, or roughly US$415 for a 60-kilogram bag, against about US$7.00 a kilogram in the same months of 2025.
What did the first quarter show?
The first three months of the fiscal year, which began on 8 July, brought in US$878.5 million from 131,069 tons, up 15% in value on a year earlier, according to an ECTA statement reported by Xinhua on 8 November and by Dawan Africa on 10 November. Dawan reported on 10 November that the quarter reached 85% of ECTA's revenue target of US$1.033 billion and 91% of its volume target. Xinhua said only that the result fell slightly short of the projection, and Africanews said the same on 11 November. All three reports trace to the one ECTA statement.
Where is Ethiopian coffee going?
Saudi Arabia was the largest buyer in the first quarter, taking 28,362 tons worth US$196.85 million, followed by Germany with 22,924 tons worth US$136.69 million, according to Dawan's report of the ECTA statement on 10 November. China came third with 15,125 tons worth US$103 million, about 12% of the total, Xinhua reported on 8 November. Dawan listed the United States, South Korea, Belgium, Japan and the United Arab Emirates next, with Italy ninth and Russia in the top ten for the first time.
What did ECTA's director general say?
Adugna Debella, ECTA's director general, credited the four-month result to work on market access and export competitiveness and thanked staff for what he called "remarkable milestones," StockMarket.et reported. The outlet also cited a five-year strategy to double coffee earnings to US$6 billion a year by 2031, and a Ministry of Trade target of US$13.4 billion for all Ethiopian exports in 2026/27, a figure that covers every product, not coffee alone.
How do these figures compare with the ICO's count?
The International Coffee Organization's October Coffee Market Report put Ethiopia's exports of all forms of coffee in the 2025/26 coffee year 8.3% below the year before, as we reported in our story on world exports on 12 November. The two are not one series: the ICO's coffee year runs from October to September, Ethiopia's fiscal year from early July, and the ICO counts in 60-kilogram bags rather than tons.
Where do the EU deforestation rules stand?
The European Union's deforestation regulation applies to large and medium operators from 30 December 2026 and to micro and small enterprises from 30 June 2027, according to the European Commission's page, read on 14 November. An ODI Global briefing published in October estimated that the rules could cost Ethiopia between about US$160 million and US$453 million in coffee exports, depending on how much coffee is shut out, as we reported in our story on that briefing on 22 October.
- July to October 2026 exports: US$1.16 billion and 167,800 tons, according to ECTA figures reported by StockMarket.et on 13 November 2026.
- First quarter of the fiscal year, from 8 July 2026: US$878.5 million and 131,069 tons, up 15% in value, according to the ECTA statement reported by Xinhua on 8 November 2026.
- First-quarter revenue target: US$1.033 billion, 85% reached, according to Dawan Africa on 10 November 2026.
- China's first-quarter share: US$103 million and 15,125 tons, according to Xinhua on 8 November 2026.
Photograph: Amanuel Kebede, Unsplash. Coffee poured from a traditional jug, which the photographer describes as Ethiopian coffee; not connected to the export figures reported here.
