EU deforestation regulations put Ethiopian coffee exports at risk

A new European Union regulation requires that commodities like coffee, cocoa, cattle, oil palm, rubber, soy, and wood entering the EU must originate from land that has not been deforested after December 31, 2020, supported by specific geolocation data. Ethiopia achieved record earnings of 2.65 billion dollars from coffee exports in the year ending June 2025, with coffee accounting for nearly 32 percent of total merchandise export earnings. However, the London-based think tank ODI Global has warned that this new EU requirement could put up to 453 million dollars of Ethiopia's EU-bound export revenue at significant risk.