ETHIOPIA: "Internal conflict" admitted


NAIROBI, 5 October (IRIN) - As a member of the Interafrican Coffee Organisation (IACO), Ethiopia has applied for exemption from new retention policies on the basis it suffers internal conflict. Ethiopia and the Democratic Republic of Congo have requested exemption due to internal conflict after the IACO proposed to retain coffee from 1 October, Reuters said. The move for the remaining six members - Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Madagascar, Uganda and Tanzania - to retain 20 percent of their exports is designed to boost sagging prices. The six African countries have accepted to adopt national strategies to ensure the success of the plan, which requires stocking up coffee in licensed warehouses, Reuters said. No details were given on Ethiopia's problem of internal conflict.