"We have become self sufficient," Esayas Kebede, the head of coffee, tea and spice development with the Ministry, told Reuters, adding that almost all tea leaves for local consumption used to be imported from neighboring Kenya.

"The country has managed to double tea production since then 3,500 tons annual production then to 6,525 tons today." he said.

Ethiopia has also earned 900,000 US dollars so far in the current season from exports to the Middle East and Europe, Esayas said.

The government has identified 500,000 hectares of land where soils, humidity and rainfall are ideal for tea growing, he said.

In July, it leased 10,000 hectares (almost 25,000 acres) in the west to one Indian company, Kanan Devan Hills Plantation of Karalla, and Esayas said the hunt was on for more investors.

Another Indian firm, Lucky Exporters, was also in talks with the government to set up a 5,000-hectare plantation, he added.

Ethiopia wants to boost tea production to diversify exports away from its major cash crop, coffee. It is Africa's top coffee grower with an estimated annual production of 320,000 tons.

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