Ethiopia relaxes coffee rules for tourists

Airline passengers departing Ethiopia will no longer be banned from carrying domestically grown coffee for personal use, the Russian Embassy in Addis Ababa announced on Friday, citing the African nation’s customs authorities.

On Monday, the Ethiopian government temporarily prohibited tourists from taking locally produced coffee out of the country in any form, due to changes in customs legislation.

“Ethiopian customs authorities have clarified the previous order and explained that passengers flying out of the country can carry up to 2 kg of coffee per person for personal use,” the Russian Embassy wrote on its Telegram channel.

Commercial coffee trade is not affected by the restrictions, the Ethiopian Embassy in Moscow clarified.

“This is a temporary measure, and we are talking about airline passengers, this does not apply to commercial exports,” the diplomatic mission explained.

Ethiopia is the largest Arabica coffee producer among African nations, and ranks fifth globally in coffee production after Brazil, Vietnam, Colombia, and Indonesia, according to the London-based International Coffee Organization. Over a quarter of Ethiopians reportedly earn a living from the coffee trade, which generates up to 30% of foreign exchange earnings.

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