ADDIS ABABA, Nov 7 (NNN-ENA) -- Preparations are being finalized for Ethiopia to host an international conference on coffee for the first time in the country, the Ethiopian Coffee Exporters Association Board says. 
In a joint statement issued here Tuesday, the board's Vice-President, Emebet Tafesse, and board member Tadesse Meskela said up to 250 representatives from the local and international coffee sector, including the Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization, Robério Oliveira Silva, are expected to attend the conference. 
The officials said the conference on Thursday and Friday was designed to boost Ethiopia's status in the global coffee market, promote Ethiopian coffee and enable the country benefit from its coffee products. 
They added that the conference, which would also help to find solutions to problems related to coffee production and supply, had also attracted coffee producers and suppliers, among others.
It will also enable the country to achieve the plan to secure over 1.1 billion USD through supplying 220,000 tons of coffee to the world market during the country's Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) period. 
The 40-year old association plans to organize coffee exhibitions to promote Ethiopian coffee products, the officials said. Ethiopia is the birth place of coffee, and its rich coffee culture reflects its long history. 
Ethiopia’s Kaffa Region is the origin of coffee. The name coffee is even derived from Kaffa. -- NNN-ENA