Ethiopia’s export to USA almost doubles in two years
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
February 28, 2008 (ADDIS-ABABA) — USAID VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+, the only bilateral AGOA trade program in Africa, announced yesterday that Ethiopia has been making steady gains in its efforts to break into the U.S market.
According to a press release issued by USAID, Ethiopian exports under AGOA/General System of Preference (GSP) have increased by almost 100% to 8.9 million USD in 2007 since the project’s inauguration two years ago.
Director of the AGOA+ project Addis Alemayehu who said ” the U.S. market, while very competitive and demanding, is also the largest in the world,” added that, ” we are on the verge of a major breakthrough where companies in the U.S. and elsewhere are starting to recognize Ethiopia as a place to do business and our exporters are starting to open their eyes to the world of opportunities that exist in the export sector.”
As the AGOA+ project starts to address the twin problems of a supply side weakness in Ethiopia and the inability to market Ethiopian products in the U.S., total exports to the U.S. have showed considerable gain. Total exports have risen from 61 million USD in 2005 to 88 million USD in 2007, an increase of over 30% over two years, the press release elaborated.
The prospects are very promising. Existing Ethiopian factories are starting to show signs of becoming globally competitive, while fresh new investments with an eye to the U.S. market have also increased in the key sectors of key textile, garments and leather industries.
USAID’s VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ project in turn has been making progress in building the image of Ethiopia as a location for quality exportable products, the statement said.
The program’s focus in the future will be to increase the market linkages between Ethiopian products and the U.S., promote more inward Diaspora and American investment and trade with Ethiopia, help to create new jobs and expand the product categories exported under AGOA to the U.S. There will be a special emphasis on flower exports as well as other products such as honey and spices, it was pointed out.
AGOA is a U.S government initiative that allows for a duty free and quota free access to the U.S market for over 6,000 items produced in selected African countries, including Ethiopia. The AGOA+ project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
(ST)