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Selam farmers' Cooperatives Union in Tach Armacheho Woreda of North Gondar Zone, Amhara State said it has earned over USD 1.1 million from export of sesame in the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year.

Speaking at the Union's annual general assembly over the weekend, Union Board Chairperson Hagos Asfaw said that the cooperative union manged to export over 6000 quintals sesame to China. He said the regional government provided 30 million Ethiopian Birr loan to the Union for purchasing sesame. Hagos also said activities are underway to establish a sesame processing plant through support of the government and NGOs. Add a comment Add a comment

EthSwitch S.C has opened the financial proposals of the two companies,  – BPC Banking Technologies BV and Compass Plus Limited (Great Britain) on May 7, 2013, for the award of a turnkey contract for the supply and implementation of a National Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) Switch Clearing Settlement and Reconciliation System.

The Company is set to announce the winner in “a very short period of time,” according to Bizuneh Bekele, Chief Executive Officer of EthSwitch S.C. Add a comment Add a comment

Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), the largest coffee trade association in the world  has certified the Ethiopian based METAD/Kabu Coffee Quality Control Laboratory, the Ethiopian company announced yesterday. The laboratory is the first privately-owned African laboratory to be certified by the SCAA.

According to the company's press statement, sent to PANA, the Laboratory, equipped with the state-of-the-art coffee tasting technology, was certified on 17 May, 2013, after a team of SCAA experts, including Mr. Skip Finley, a Director on the SCAA Board, and Mr. Marty Curtis, a Coffee Quality Institute Instructor, inspected the laboratory same day.

The Ethiopian Roads Authority announced that it has completed the  76km Maytsemri-Dima asphalt concrete road in Tigray State. The  road is part of the Maytsemri-Dima-FiyelWuha-Abadi-Hawzen-Firewoyni road project. The construction took more than 534.4 million Ethiopian Birr, according to communication directorate of the Authority.

The Ethiopian government covered the full cost for construction of the road. A local contractor was awarded the project and the construction of the road is completed two months ahead of its original schedule, the directorate told Ethiopian News Agency on Saturday.

The Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research (EIAR) said it has distributed 140 new crop species during the past nine months of the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year.

Deresse Teshome, Public Relations Directorate Director with Institute  told Walta Information Center that the stated number of crop species is among the 150 that the institute planned to distribute in this budget year.

Omo Microfinance Institution S.C (OMFI) announced that it has disbursed 657 million Ethiopian birr in the first nine months of the current Ethiopian Fiscal Year.

OMFI Credit and Saving Sector Head, Gelta Gadena, told Walta Information Center that,the loan was distributed to a total of 633, 650 individuals engaged in small and medium agriculture, metal and wood works, animal breeding and service sectors. Add a comment Add a comment

A Swedish business delegation led by Gunnar Oom, Swedish Secretary of Trade expressed its keen interest to promote trade relations between Ethiopia and Sweden.

The trade promotion  event took place between 15 and 17 May 2013 was organized by the Embassy of Sweden Addis Ababa, Business Sweden - The Swedish Trade & Invest Council and Responsify, a textile and leather manufacturer. Add a comment Add a comment

Kuwait Fund promised to support ongoing road construction and water provision projects in Ethiopia. It has also pledged to support the expansion project at the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

The Fund has so far provided an aggregate support of USD 150 million to six projects, its Director General, Abdulwahab Al-Bader told Ethiopian Radio & Television Agency. Add a comment Add a comment

The Ministry of Agriculture has announced the launch of the Ethiopian Wheat Productivity Initiative in collaboration with the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA). The initiative is intended to help increase yields and productivity in order to reduce Ethiopia’s reliance on imported crops.

The Ethiopian Wheat Productivity Initiative aims to increase the output of one million wheat farmers by at least 50%, eventually replacing all current wheat imports with domestic supply. This initiative is expected to save USD 250 million in related annual foreign exchange spending over the next 3 years according to ATA. Add a comment Add a comment

WAFA Marketing & Promotion PLC in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jetro and the Ethiopian Embassy in Japan are joining hands to organizing a trade and investment forum in Tokyo, Japan on June 2, 2013.

The Forum which is said to strengthen the the Ethio-Japan trade relations is expected to draw the participation of more than 45 Ethiopian businesses in the coffee, floriculture, grains, and leather sector.