The Ethiopian government is proposing to establish the Food, Beverage & Pharmaceuticals Industry Development Institute and the Chemicals & Construction Materials Development Institute. The two institutes are expected to be operational in the coming fiscal year after the Council of Ministers grants its approval.

“This is the result of the government’s plan to transform the manufacturing sector,” Tadesse Haile, state minister of Industry told Fortune.

Despite the notable growth trends in basic manufacturing figures recorded over the last decade, the sector essentially remains weak. The level of industrialization in the country is very low, with the shares of the manufacturing sector accounting for less than five percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Manufactured exports account for a meager 0.5pc, according to the findings of a draft study conducted by the Ministry of Industry (MoI) in January 2012.

The Meat and Dairy Technology Development Institute, now under the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), will be merged with the Food, Beverage & Pharmaceuticals Industry Development Institute once it becomes operational, according to Mebrahatu Meles,PhD., director of Private Sector Development Project at Ethiopian Ministry of Trade.

The Ethiopian government has previously established the Leather & Leather Products Technology Institute (LLPTI), Textile Industry Development Institute (TIDI), and the Ethiopian Metal Industries Development Institute (EMIDI), to help the development and competitiveness in their respective sectors.

Source: Fortune