Addis Ababa, 02 October, 2015(WIC)-The 4th international coffee conference which will take place in March 2016 in Ethiopia is expected to bring stakeholders in the coffee value chain from across the world together. The six day conference is scheduled to take place in Addis Ababa from March 06 to 11, 2016.
According to the International Trade Promotion Directorate Director General of the Ethiopian Ministry of Trade, Assefa Mulugeta, the conference will create conducive environment for stakeholders in the coffee value chain to come together and discuss issues vital to the coffee producers, exporters, importers, processors and distributors.
The conference is expected to bring together more than 1,200 panelists from around the globe. Better contract negotiation and deals are expected as an outcome at the end of the conference, noted the director general.
Cognizant of the fact that Ethiopia is the birth place of coffee, it is selected to host the conference in addition to the country’s track record in hosting such international conferences time and again in a colorful and peaceful way.
“Ethiopia has good reputation in the international coffee market. Plus to that, our county is the birth place of coffee. We have a track record in hosting international conferences peacefully. The facilities to host the conference are internationally rated. The combined results of all the aforementioned factors proved Ethiopia’s nomination to host the conference,” said Mulugeta in a press briefing he gave yesterday in his office.
More than 1,200 delegates representing more than 100 globally acclaimed companies are expected to participate in the conference according to information obtained from the ministry. The conference is hoped to provide a fertile ground for Ethiopian coffee exporters by creating an opportunity to make a fruitful deal with global coffee trading companies.
The conference will also host the 116th annual conference of the international coffee organization. The annual conference is believed to serve as a good platform to form an African coffee producers association.
The international coffee Association held its previous three international conferences on coffee in England, Brazil and Guatemala.