Ethiopia has earned US$281 million from the manufacturing sector during the concluded fiscal year, the Ministry of Industry said.

Corporate Communication Director with the Ministry, Melaku Taye told Ethiopian News Agency over the weekend that the stated sum secured during the reported period is 52 percent of the US$542.4 million target set by the ministry.

The stated sum was secured from export of textiles, leather and leather products, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Melaku said the low performance of the sector is due to low quality of products as a result of lack of capacity, lack of sustainable market chain and shortage of skilled labor, among others.

However, Melaku said the stated sum secured during the reported period exceeded the previous year by 10 percent.

The Ministry has set target to earn one billion  dollars from the sector during the current fiscal year, Melaku said. Melaku also said, the Ministry is working to address the problems cited for the low performance over the concluded budget and to realize its target set for the current fiscal year.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency