Starbucks delays opening Ethiopia support center (IHT)

NEW YORK: Starbucks Corp. said it is not sure when it will open a center in Ethiopia to support coffee farmers due to the downturn in the global economy and delays in opening a similar center in Rwanda.

In a statement, the gourmet coffee company said it had originally hoped its Ethiopian Farmer Support Center would be open by now, but delays in opening the Rwanda center and "the global slowdown in the economy have made it challenging for us to move as quickly as we would like."

"We remain committed to opening a Farmer Support Center in Addis, but do not have an opening date to announce at this time," the company said in the statement.

The company first announced the two Africa support centers in 2007. The company had planned to open both of the centers in 2008. The center in Rwanda opened toward the end of the year, the company said.

Starbucks will use both centers to work with coffee farmers to improve coffee quality and help them produce more coffee that can be purchased by specialty coffee buyers.