Ms Harmella Mathewos, Trade and Tourism Officer, Ethiopian Embassy, Abuja, on Thursday appealed to Nigerians and other countries to patronise its coffee and frankincense.

Mathewos made the appeal in an interview at the Federal Capital Territory Exhibition Pavilion, venue of the ongoing 2019 International Arts and Crafts Expo (INAC).

Theme of the 2019 Expo is entitled: “Networking Nigerian Crafts to the World”.

According to her, Ethiopia is one of the largest producers of coffee and the country generates huge revenue annually from coffee sales worldwide.

“The major coffee produced in Ethiopia referred to as ‘Arabic’ was first discovered in Kaffa and has lots of benefits for the consumers.

“Ethiopia has a very rich coffee culture spanning over 1,000 years and our coffee has energising effects and is labelled premium coffee.

“What makes Ethiopia coffee unique is that a lot of ceremony goes with the preparation which makes it touristic.

“This has to do with its washing, roasting and brewing, all in a go.

“Coffee is Ethiopia’s number one export produce and has improved the economy of the nation over the years,” she said.

Mathewos said that other things displayed on the country’s stand for all to embrace and patronise were paintings, dresses, scarfs, jewellery and frankincense, among others.

The trade and tourism officer said that for Ethiopians, frankincense has some religious connotations and was being used at the fair to lighten up the environment.

She said that frankincense was held very highly in Ethiopia because of the biblical allusion which had the three wise men in the Bible presenting frankincense to Jesus Christ as a gift.

According to her, this is not restricted to the Christians alone but.

She said that due to improved technological advancement, the country had been able to improve on the quality of frankincense produced from tree wax.

Mathewos said that frankincenses were made from tree wax and that combination of different scents chemically engineered together gave varieties to the product.

She said that the items exhibited were produced by the country locally to boost its economy.

(NAN)