The office quoted Schultz Howard, Founder and Director of the Corporation as saying that Ethiopia is the origin and supplier of one of the best quality coffee in the world.

“Historically Ethiopia is the origin of quality coffee in the world”, Howard said and expressed his readiness to further consolidate the close ties his company has with Ethiopia.

The Director made the statement following the conclusion of the joint agreement reached between Starbucks and Ethiopian government.

Director of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office Getachew Mengiste on his part said that the efforts to register Ethiopian quality coffee production areas as brand names and getting patent rights is a new program which has gained due attention from the government.

This effort would also benefit international coffee roasting and retailing companies and their customers in addition to registering Ethiopian coffee as a heritage.

He said the procedure would also benefit coffee farmers and retailers in Ethiopia to get what the y deserve from their products.

It is expected that Ethiopian government and Starbucks would conclude the final agreement at the end of this month.

Starbucks is the 13th US Coffee Corporation Ethiopian government has reached agreements with.