Ethiopian coffee has been gaining a foothold in the Chinese market, with its sales volume showing a 27 percent average increase in recent years, an Ethiopian official has said.

Adugna Debela, director general of the Ethiopian Coffee and Tea Authority (ECTA), said a few years ago, Ethiopia had been exporting 8,000 to 10,000 metric tons of coffee annually to China, which then ranked 33rd among importers of Ethiopian coffee.

"However, China has been importing up to 20,000 metric tons of Ethiopian coffee annually for the last two years, becoming the eighth-largest importer of Ethiopian coffee," Debela told Xinhua in an interview Tuesday.

In the past three years or so, the amount of coffee Ethiopia exports to China has been growing at an average rate of 27 percent annually, said Debela, who attributed the surge to a significant increase in Chinese coffee buyers who import coffee directly from Ethiopia.

He also credited the close collaboration between the Chinese Embassy in Addis Ababa and the ECTA in terms of searching for new markets, connecting Chinese coffee roasting companies, organizing exhibitions, and launching e-commerce and online sales.

Debela said the China International Import Expo and cross-border e-commerce platforms, which serve as effective gateways for overseas brands to enter China, have presented numerous opportunities for Ethiopian coffee beans to gain popularity in the Chinese market.

Talking about the performance of the coffee sector during the current Ethiopian fiscal year, Debela said Ethiopia has exported 252,000 metric tons of coffee to the world market, earning $1.28 billion in the first 11 months of the 2023/2024 Ethiopian fiscal year that ends on July 7, 2024.

He said there would be a huge, growing demand for Ethiopian coffee in China as more and more people in China, especially youngsters, enjoy drinking Ethiopian coffee.

Debela said he hopes that China will become one of the top five Ethiopian coffee importers shortly as the ECTA continues exploiting untapped market opportunities there.

Ethiopia's coffee, originating from the region where Arabica coffee was first discovered, is praised for its distinctive flavors ranging from fruity and winy to chocolaty.