Local tech firm Vulcan ICT has entered into a partnership with the Ethiopian Coffee & Tea Authority (ECTA) to develop a coffee traceability platform as the compliance deadline with the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) gets closer.
Adugna Debela (PhD), ECTA’s Director General, and Vulcan’s CEO Henok Alemayehu signed the contract that targets key strategic goals. Central to the agreement is enabling compliance with EUDR, which demands due diligence on all coffee sold in the European market by December 2025.
The EU accounts for more than a third of all merchandise exports from Ethiopia, with coffee remaining consistently in the top two commodity types. Coffee is among the seven commodities (cattle, cocoa, coffee, palm oil, rubber, soy, and wood) that fall within EUDR’s purview.
EUDR introduces stringent due diligence requirements to ensure that these agricultural commodities imported into the EU are free of deforestation, forest degradation, human rights violations, and even indigenous community rights.
Failure to comply with the due diligence requirements could seriously disrupt local supply chains. In the most extreme scenario, where exports to the EU cease completely, Ethiopia could face an 18.4% drop in overall exports, a 5.8% fall in imports, a 0.6% decrease in GDP, and a 3.3% reduction in public revenue.
Signed on December 9, 2024, the contract between ECTA and Vulcan focuses on the collection of Geolocation data, essential for maintaining quality control and ensuring compliance with EUDR.
No Comment Found.