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Preparations for the second African Trade Fair to be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from the 24th to the 26th of September are underway. The trade fair will be held under the theme of ‘Boosting Intra-African and Establishing the Continental Free Trade Area’.

The trade forum is a collaborative effort between the African Union Commission, Economic Commission for Africa and the African Development Forum.

The forum is being organized amidst increasing commitments to enhance Intra-African trade and establishing the Continental Free Trade area said Mr. Kyerematin, Head of the African Trade Policy Forum.

Ethiopia has significant salt deposits according to studies conducted at various times said the Ministry of Mines. The resources are estimated to be sufficient for more than 100 years said the ministry.

The studies conducted show that the salt resources are to  be found in parts of Afar and Somali regional states explained Bacha Fuji, Director of the Public Relations Directorate of the Ministry. The Dalol area in Afar Regional State is particularly notable for large salt reserves he said.

Efforts are underway to begin salt exports to generate foreign currency from the sector noted Bacha. Four companies currently engaged in salt production secured more than 30 million US dollars from the export of salt in the just concluded fiscal year he added. 

Ethiopia has earned 3.1 billion US dollars in revenue from foreign trade in the just ended financial year according to the Ministry of Trade.

The revenue was earned from the export of 1.25 million tons of items exported during the fiscal year according to Amakele Yemam, Public Relations and Communications Director with the ministry.

The revenue earned in this last financial year was 14.8% higher than the 2.7 billion birr raised in the previous reporting period.

Addis International Bank, Ethiopia signed an agreement with Re-wire ICT solutions plc for Mobile Money Transfer Services.

The Danish IT supplier will partner with the bank to provide the software to facilitate money transfer options from mobile phones including sending and receiving money, paying bills and buying airtime.

Re-wire will in turn receive a share of the revenues earned from providing these said Endeshaw Kebede, Head of the IT Department of Addis. He however declined to disclose how much the bank will be paying for the technology upfront.

Brazilian petroleum company, Petra Energiya, submitted a proposal for a concession in the Ogaden and Abay basins of Ethiopia according to sources.

The actual blocks that the company has submitted a proposal for are yet to be disclosed as the proposal is being evaluated by experts in the Petroleum Licensing and Administration Section of the Ministry of Mines.

The MoM awards concession upon negotiation with companies unless there are several companies interested in the same block in which case the ministry floats a tender according to officials.

Gold production by artisan miners in Ethiopia has been 37% less than projected output in the just concluded financial year.

The artisan miners produced 8327 kilograms of gold as opposed to the 13,200 kilograms anticipated by the Ministry of mines.

The revenue earned from the export of gold however was only 17% below the projected revenue due to the increased price of gold on the international market. Consequently the revenue was just 88 million US dollars short of the 528 million US dollars projected by the ministry noted a report from the MoM.

The performance registered in the reporting period, however, exceed that of the previous year with the total amount exported (6,515 kilograms) surpassing what was exported last year (5250 kilograms).

The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority collected approximately 71 billion birr in the 2011-12 budget year according to a tentative report released by the authority.

ERCA collected 36.1 million from domestic taxes, 34.5 billion birr from customs and duties and 96.7 million from lotteries noted the report.

The revenue collected by the authority exceeded its performance in the previous financial year by 16 billion birr although it fell short of the 76 billion birr projected for the fiscal year.

Tecno Telecom has inaugurated its second assembly plant in Ethiopia this year. The second plant launched by the Hong Kong based company has the capacity to assemble 200 thousand handsets a month in addition to the 60 thousand units being produced by the first plant.

Techno has introduced 13 brands on the Ethiopian market including a smart phone with the demand for the product increasing said Levi Girma, a partner of Tecno Telecom Ethiopia Ltd.

The company is able to sell all it produces because demand exceeds the available supply which is why Tecno implemented the second phase of the project he added.

Ethiopia earned more than 255 million US dollars from the export of manufactured goods in the just ended budget announced the Ministry of Industry.

The revenue was earned from the export of manufactured products including, leather and leather products, textile and clothing, chemical and pharmaceutical products and agro processed products according to Melaku Taye Director of the Public Relations Directorate of the ministry.

A notable portion of the revenue earned from manufactured goods was raised by Ayka Addis Textile and Investment group said Melaku.

Ethiopian Airlines will begin flight to Kuala Lampur, capital city of Malaysia as of November of this year. The flights will serve to connect the Malaysian business sector to Africa as well as servicing the small Ethiopian expat community in Malaysia, which mainly consists of students according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of the airlines.

It is also expected that the flights will support Malaysian companies engaged in Ethiopia, such as Petronas undertaking oil and gas exploration projects in the country he added.

In addition the new flight will enhance networking opportunities with countries in South Eastern Asia such as Singapore and the Philippines.