Ethiopia says Djibouti holds off on port tariffs
July 16, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) — Land-locked Ethiopia said on Wednesday it had received assurances from President Ismail Omar Guelleh of neighbouring Djibouti that new port service tariffs will not be applied on it until agreement is reached.
Worried about the negative impact of new port charges due to begin mid-August at a time of already high inflation and rising global food and oil prices, Ethiopia last week sent Trade and Industry Minister Girma Birru to Djibouti.
Birru was told by Guelleh the tariffs will not be applied until both nations have agreed on the level of adjustments needed, an Ethiopian government source told Reuters.
“Following discussions held between Trade Minister Girma and President Guelleh in Djibouti, the president has assured Girma that the government will not let the new tariffs be applied to Ethiopia before agreements are reached on the adjusted prices,” the official said.
Djiboutian officials could not immediately be contacted.
The country’s port is Ethiopia’s main gateway for imports and exports after it lost the Red Sea ports of Assab and Masawa when Eritrea won its independence from Ethiopia in 1991.
Ethiopian officials say Djibouti earns about $300 million a year for handling some 4.6 million tonnes of Ethiopian goods.
The proposed new charges, which would raise port service prices by a range of 15 to 50 percent, could cost Ethiopia an extra $22.5 million annually, according to Ethiopian government sources.
(Reuters)