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Capital, Ethiopia February 20, 2010 Muluken Yewondwossen The Exporters' Day event to reward good performance has been cancelled this year due to last year's disappointing figures. Amakele Yilma, head of the corporate communication directorate at the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), said the performance was not good enough to earn recognition. Last year's export earnings were 2.1 percent lower than 2007/08. For the last two years the day was celebrated in November, first at Millennium Hall and last year at the ECA with the attendance of high government officials including Prime Minster Meles Zenawi. In early January 2010, the Ethiopian Pulses, Oilseeds and Spices Processors Exporters Association (EPOSPEA) with the financial support of USAID celebrated its own Exporters' Day at Hilton Hotel. According to a report, the export rate of oil seed, pulses and spices last year was 493 percent higher than five years ago and 20 percent more than the previous year with a total of 446 million dollars earned. According to the association, from the total exports about 90 percent were made by members of the association. The government stated the global financial crisis was the main factor in last year's poor performance, for instance, two major buyers of Ethiopia's coffee, Japan and Germany, reduced their percentage of imports. However, government measure taken against five major coffee exporters accused of hoarding in March last year was also the other main factor for the low coffee export figures, according to sector experts, as the export was delayed until the government could find a buyer. The banned exporters had an 80 percent share of total exports in the previous year and they were recognised for their achievements in the coffee sector at the last two Exporters' Days. The value of Ethiopia's exports during the past fiscal year amounted to only 1.5 billion dollars, while the government had a target of 2.5 billion dollars - a billion dollars higher than the previous year. Coffee accounted for some 60 percent of Ethiopia's foreign exchange revenue in 2007/2008 when it earned more than 525 million dollars from mostly high quality Arabica beans. But earnings slumped to just 375.8 million dollar in 2008/2009. In this fiscal year the government expects export revenues to increase to three billion dollars.