National coffer

Newsletter 18

Ethiopian Export on the Rise

The export trade is showing steady growth every year.  Especially in the past three successive years export is one of the sub-sectors that have registered remarkable and sustainable increment. 

Table 1:  Three Years Export Revenue

 In 1998 E.C. fiscal year the government in its bid to augment the export items:

1.diversified export commodities and destinations

2. gave support to increase the quality and quantity of exports

3.addressed all bottlenecks in the export sector

4.  Supported sub-sectors with comparative advantage for example textile, flower, meat and livestock etc.

The foreign currency earnings in the past fiscal year has reached more than one billion dollar. Compared with the previous year, total export increased by 23 percent (189.6 USD). (See the table 2) 

For many years the Export trade was highly dependent on limited traditional export items such as coffee which takes 60 percent of the whole export trade share. 

However, in the past fiscal year the share of traditional agriculture exports have decreased from 90 to 75 percent and coffee in particular to 36 percent. 

The major foreign currency earners include cereals, oil seeds, khat, leather and leather products, meat and cattle, flower, textiles and etc. 

Therefore, the growth registered in the export sector heralds the beginning  of a new chapter.  It indicates the compatibility of strategies and policies of the country with the effort to achieving poverty alleviation and bringing about sustainable development.

		1995			1996			1997			1998			Average %	Growth Rate
	Commodity	Quantity	Value	Value % Share	Quantity	Value	Value % Share	Quantity	Value	Value % Share	Quantity	Value	Value % Share	Share of Value from 1995-1998	96/95	97/96	98/97	Average
	COFFEE	126,100	165,300	34.24	144,629	208,313	34.92	159,989	334,863	40.89	153,155	365,835	36.27	36.58	0.26	0.61	0.09	0.32
	MEAT & LIVE ANIMALS		2,880	0.60		8,712	1.46		28,680	3.50		45,586	4.52	2.52	2.03	2.29	0.59	1.64
	Meat and Meat Products	1,700	2,400	0.50	3,317	6,335	1.06	7,754	15,598	1.90	7,856	18,323	1.82	1.32	1.64	1.46	0.17	1.09
	Live animals (in No.)	10,372	480	0.10	41,966	2,377	0.40	103,905	13,081	1.60	163,375	27,262	2.70	1.20	3.95	4.50	1.08	3.18
	HIDES AND SKIN	10,500	52,200	10.81	9,309	43,027	7.21	15,331	66,968	8.18	15,491	75,328	7.47	8.42	-0.18	0.56	0.12	0.17
	Skins (Semi Processed)	7,894	43,657	9.04	5,345	38,239	6.41	8,951	55,722	6.80	8,830	58,430	5.79	7.01	-0.12	0.46	0.05	0.13
	Hides (Semi Processed)	2,284	5,284	1.09	3,935	3,930	0.66	5,840	6,870	0.84	6,273	7,252	0.72	0.83	-0.26	0.75	0.06	0.18
	Finished Leather			0.00			0.00	437	3,572	0.44	168	7,648	0.76	0.30			1.14	1.14
	Leather Products	323	3,259	0.68	30	858	0.14	103	803	0.10	221	1,997	0.20	0.28	-0.74	-0.06	1.49	0.23
	TEXTIL & TEXTILE PRODUCTS	1,969	4,039	0.84	7,487	9,354	1.57	2.212	7,034	0.86	3,581	11,102	1.10	1.09	1.32	-0.25	0.58	0.55
	COTTON	7,562	7,735	1.60	8,189	10,879	1.82	1,228	1,848	0.23	6,177	6,807	0.67	1.08	0.41	-0.83	2.68	0.75
	PULSES, OIL SEEDS & SPICES	153,548	70,500	14.61	195,059	122,703	20.57	308,231	173,075	21.13	380,533	255,442	25.33	20.41	0.74	0.41	0.48	0.54
	Pulses	66,200	20,000	4.14	75,156	24,884	4.17	119,436	35,290	4.31	108,773	36,995	3.67	4.07	0.24	0.42	0.05	0.24
	Oilseeds	83,000	46,100	9.55	109,733	90,975	15.25	173,109	126,455	15.44	263,251	209,786	20.80	15.26	0.97	0.39	0.66	0.67
	Spices	4,348	4,400	0.91	10,170	6,845	1.15	15,685	11,330	1.38	8.509	8,661	0.86	1.08	0.56	0.66	-0.24	0.33
	CHAT	11,000	58,000	12.02	23,079	88,059	14.76	21,301	83,390	10.18	22,125	88,505	8.78	11.43	0.52	-0.05	0.06	0.18
	FRUITS AND VEGETABLES	25,300	9,600	1.99	28,452	6,870	1.15	37,645	15,971	1.95	34,550	12,741	1.26	1.59	-0.28	1.32	-0.20	0.28
	FLOWERS (in million Stems)	16	2,904	0.60	32	5,050	0.85	83	12,645	1.54	186.4	21,967	2.18	1.29	0.74	1.50	0.74	0.99
	SUGER	77,000	17,900	3.71	16,000	9,756	1.64	33,832	14,553	1.78	14,100	8,245	0.82	1.98	-0.45	0.49	-0.43	0.13
	NATURAL GUM	1,544	2,200	0.46	3,109	4,369	0.73	3,791	4,946	0.60	3,529	5,363	0.53	0.58	0.99	0.13	0.08	0.40
	TEA	1,782	1,583	0.33	1,966	2,100	0.35	1,499	1,833	0.22	596	837	0.08	0.25	0.33	-0.13	-0.54	-0.11
	CERALS AND FLOUR	29,057	14,100	2.92	21,829	9,122	1.53	18,022	8,761	1.07	38,466	14,078	1.40	1.73	-0.35	-0.04	0.61	0.07
	BEES WAX	207	500	0.10	525	1,389	0.23	400	1,177	0.14	353	1,516	0.15	0.16	1.78	-0.15	0.29	0.64
	GOLD	5.00	42,100	8.72	6.03	54,993	9.22	4	44,192	5.40	4.97	64,716	6.42	7.44	0.31	-0.20	0.46	0.19
	TANTALUM	70	4,000	0.83	122	5,008	0.84	80	3,936	0.48	122	4,343	0.43	0.64	0.25	-0.21	0.10	0.05
	OTHERS	6,716	27,159	5.63	28,960	6,817	1.14	70,519	15,156	1.85	73,783	26,158	2.59	2.80	-0.75	1.22	0.73	0.40
	Total		482,700	100.00		596,521	100.00		819,026	100.00		1,008,567	100.00		0.24	0.37	0.23	0.28