Assessment of Factors Affecting Coffee Production Marketability in Relation to Economic Development: The Case of Ethiopia

The present study examines the factors affecting the market performance of Ethiopian coffee and the impact of economic development on the sector, particularly in the Guji Zone of Ethiopia. The study was conducted using a quantitative research design based on primary data collected through a structured questionnaire administered to coffee producers, middlemen, and exporters. Specifically, the study sought to examine how agricultural practices and government support affect the coffee market, with market performance as the mediator and economic development as the moderator. Data analysis included exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis and the PROCESS macro analysis to examine the direct, mediating, and moderating relationships among variables. The findings reveal that both agricultural practices and government support positively influence the coffee market performance. Marketability acts as the mediator, which implies that better agricultural practices increase market performance via better product positioning, effective pricing, and proper distribution. Economic development moderates the relationships between the factors that affect coffee and the Ethiopian coffee market. In other words, in the underdeveloped environment, there is a stronger influence of production and institutional factors, while in a more developed environment, performance is affected by value chain integration and market sophistication.