Logistical problems in the Middle East continue to impact the world's main coffee exporters. With the change in ship routes, Ethiopian exporters are facing delays in cargo shipments. The country has not yet reported how much coffee would be held up due to logistics impasses. The information was recently released by the local press.

According to the publication, without the passage of the Suez Canal, all ships are using the Cape of Hope route, which justifies the delays. “Before, at least one ship arrived daily in Djibouti,” Tameru Tadesse, owner and general manager of a coffee exporting company, told The Reporter. “Since the beginning of insecurity in the Red Sea, it has been one ship a month. We tried not to lose this only ship and our coffee is stranded in Djibouti”, highlighted the publication. 

According to the Ethiopian spokesperson, the sector even tried to find new routes to transport the harvest, but in addition to being longer, they are also more expensive given the rise in sea freight. He also highlighted that these are coffees destined for China, Japan and other Asian markets. 

“Exporters and suppliers receive coffee from producers on credit. These producers and suppliers delivered coffee to exporters “on credit”, but are not being paid. Countless producers and suppliers are out of money or out of coffee,” Hussein Ambo (PhD), president of the Ethiopian Coffee Association, told The Reporter.

With Yemen's Houthi rebels attacking commercial vessels sailing through the Red Sea with missiles and drones, one of the world's main trade routes is blocked. The Yemeni group, supported by Iran, claims that the attacks are revenge against Israel.

Each year, approximately 16 thousand cargo ships pass through the Suez Canal route. This volume represents approximately 15% of the global market, moving one trillion dollars per year. It is the main route for transporting consumer goods from Asia to Europe, in addition to being an important route for tankers carrying oil, oil and oil products. 

Source: https://www.noticiasagricolas.com.br/noticias/cafe/371097-com-problemas-no-mar-vermelho-etiopia-tem-dificuldade-para-exportar-cafe-para-china-e-japao. html