LUSAKA, Feb. 25 (Xinhuanet) -- Africa's largest economic group, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with a regional coffee association to promote the export of fine or specialty coffee and strengthening the industry in the region.

    This was released in the latest weekly newsletter published by COMESA secretariat in Lusaka on Saturday.

    The memorandum, signed during the Third African Fine Coffee Conference and Exhibition held in Tanzania from February 16th to 18th, aims to foster the production, processing and marketing of high quality coffee of international standard and to ensure the viability and sustainability of the industry.

    COMESA and the Eastern Africa Fine Coffees Association (EAFCA) have agreed to cooperate in seeking and applying modern technologies and approaches in the coffee industry and to develop regional capacity for coffee certification.

    Furthermore, the two groups will undertake and promote skills development in support of creating the necessary skills base and capacity to ensure the effective management and efficient operation of the industry.

    Registered in Uganda in 2000, EAFCA is an association of coffeeproducers, processors, marketing people and organizations in the ten Eastern and Southern African countries, namely Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

    COMESA is the largest economic bloc in Africa which comprises 20 countries with a total population of close to four million people. COMESA aims to set up a customs union by December 2008. Enditem