The ongoing battle between Starbucks (SBUX) and the Ethiopian government seems to have come to an end, as the two have reached an agreement over the licensing and sale of the country's coffee.
The dispute centered around the attempt by Ethiopian officials to trademark certain coffee beans: the Harrar, Sidamo and Yirgacheffe strains.
"Starbucks has reiterated its commitment that it will not oppose Ethiopia's efforts to obtain trademarks for its specialty coffees," said Samuel Assefa, Ethiopian Ambassador to the US. "This alliance highlights the significance of visionary entrepreneurs in creating space for win-win engagements between corporations that operate globally and developing countries such as ours."
In the past Ethiopia has accused Starbucks of attempting to stop them from getting trademarks for some of the countries coffee beans.
The agreement between them will enable Starbucks to promote the specific beans in markets that have the trademarks for the beans, and those that don't. It is believed that this will help to strengthen the Ethiopian coffee business.
Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz said, "We are extremely pleased that this agreement supports both the Ethiopian specialty coffee industry and the farmers and their communities that produce these fine coffees while allowing us to bring them to our customers around the world."
Sponsored link: The outsourcing every manager requires - Tampa Locksmith
Comment Preview