Ethiopia’s flag carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, disclosed it plans to substitute imported products used for in flight catering service by products produced locally. The airline held discussions on the matter with Food and Pharmaceuticals Development Institute, Meat and Dairy Development Institute and other stakeholders on January 31, 2017.

Commenting on the development Aklilu Habtu, Catering Manager at Ethiopian, noted the airline imports 90 percent of meat, milk, honey and other products it uses for in-flight catering service. Ethiopian spent more than 100 million USD every year to import these products, he added.

In the aim of cutting its expenditure, the airline is considering to source 80 percent of these products from the local market.

According to Aklilu, Ethiopian is providing capacity building training for local producers in order to help them supply products that meet quality standards.

Source: Fana Broadcasting Corporation