Ethiopia secures over $622m from exports

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

February 22, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia has collected 622.6 million US dollar revenue from the export sector over the last six months, the ministry of trade and industry said today.

The revenue was earned from the leading export: coffee, textile, leather and leather products, agro processing, spices and livestock among a total of 34 various sectors exported during the past 6 months, information and public relations head within the ministry Haile Abebe said

The revenue secured during the half year this year exceeds to that of the revenue earned the same period last year by 73.6 million USD, Haile added.

Some 30.2 million USD of the revenue was secured from coffee export.

Despite the fact that Ethiopia’s export sector is growing annually, illegal trade, luck of management in the agricultural products — which accounts over80% of export income — and the nation’s inability to offer goods in the quantity and quality to the international market has limited the income the country could secure from this sector.

According to ministry of agriculture and rural development, inefficiency in packing and transporting agricultural products and the slow services at the ports have made it impossible for Ethiopian products to reach their respective destinies on time.

Last year Ethiopia exported its products to over 100 countries worldwide .The biggest importers of Ethiopian goods are Europe USA, Asia and few African countries.

Biggest customers from the west include Netherlands, Italy, Japan, Germany and china from the Far East; whereas Sudan and Somalia are the leading customers from African countries.

Ethiopia is expecting to secure 2.5 billion USD from the export sector by the end of this year.

(ST)