78 Thousand Metric tons of cotton were produced in Ethiopia in the last financial year according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The amount of cotton produced in the just ended fiscal year was significantly more than the 18 thousand metric tons produced in the previous financial year said Isayas Kebede, Director of Agriculture Investment Support and Monitoring with the ministry.
More than 90 percent of the 71 thousand hectares of land provided for investors in the fiscal year was given to investors engaged in cotton production, which has been a foundation for the development of the textile sector in the country he said.
Studies are also underway to establish an agricultural economic zone in this financial year with more than 25 thousand hectares of land to be developed by the government added Isayas.It is to be remembered that Ethiopia exported just 183 tons of cotton out of several thousand tons of surplus production in the 2011-12 financial year.
The exports for the fiscal year were executed after the government lifted its 18 month export ban in March of 2012.
Ethiopian cotton went to Portugal earning 5.1 million birr according to a report released by the Ministry of Trade. Exports would have been higher if it had not been for the ban said a manager of the Ethiopian Cotton Producers and Experts Association.
Exports didn’t increase even after the ban was lifted because there were still stringent requirements put in place by the Ministry of Trade and the Textile Development Institute he noted.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency
