2merkato

The Merchandise Wholesale and Import Trade Enterprise of Ethiopia revealed the pre-conditions for the government contract to import oil in a letter sent to the Public Procurement and Disposal Agency.

The move is in anticipation of the expiry of the government contract with oil suppliers from Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia in the coming May.

The Ministry of Agriculture in Ethiopia is to build silos in 11 drought prone areas to enhance the nation’s food reserves.

The ministry currently operates 7 silos across the country with the total increasing to 18 once the new silos are completed.

MoA has finalized the feasibility study, site identification, and soil study to launch construction on the silos according to information from the ministry.

Ethiopia has exported more than four tons of hypericom flowers to the United States and is anticipating to increase export quantity and variety to the American market said Girma Birru, Ethiopian Special Envoy and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the US and non-resident envoy to Mexico.

Ethiopia has become one of the more significant flower growing nations in the world and the second largest flower exporter in Africa in just a few years following efforts exerted by the government according to Ambassador Girma speaking at the Ethiopian Flower Showcase Reception held at the Ethiopian Embassy Chancery last Saturday.

Representatives made up of from local tanneries and the Leather Industry Development Institute of Ethiopia are expected to travel to South and North Sudan, this week to review conditions for importing raw and semi-processed leather.

The delegation will evaluate the market and other facilities to be found in the two countries as a preliminary study before beginning imports according to sources at the Institute.  

The representatives will visit South Sudan first and go on to North Sudan said experts at LIDI.

Ethiopia is to subcontract the management of MEWIT, Merchandise Wholesale and Import Trade Enterprise operated by the state according to sources. The move is part of efforts to stabilize the market.

The Ethiopian government has been considering multinational corporations that are experienced in wholesale distribution, such as Wall-Mart it was said.

A group of experts representing the government have been on a visit to India to review how such companies were attracted in to the market there.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, announced the launch of nonstop flights to Seychelles from Addis Ababa beginning on the 1st April of 2012.

The airline is pleased to begin services to Seychelles famous for its beauty and the home of two UNESCO designated World Heritage Sites; the world’s largest raised coral atoll and Praslin’s Vallée de Mai, said to be the site of the original Garden of Eden according to Tewolde Gebremariam, Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian.

The year on year inflation rate in Ethiopia rose to 36.3% in February from 32% in January according to official statistics revealed yesterday.

As compared to the same month last year, food prices showed an increase of 47.4% while non food inflation showed an increase of 21.4%.

The main increase in food prices was seen in the prices of fruits and vegetables, cereals, pulses and spices according to the official agency.

Tikur Abay Construction SC, Ethiopia has been dissolved for persistent failure to turn a profit. Tikur Abay has incurred significant debt Wegagen Bank and the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia which are in the process of being called in as well as running at a loss for several years according to sources.

The decision to dissolve the state owned enterprise supported by government subsidies was reached by the Privatization and Public Enterprises Supervising Agency of Ethiopia six weeks ago.

The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange has lifted the minimum price limit of coffee to allow prices to adjust to the declining coffee prices on the New York Reference market.

As of last week the price of Arabica Coffee has shown the sharpest decline since last October of 2010 on the New York commodity future exchange market.

The price for Arabica registered last week was a 16 month low dropping to 1.8620 a pound.

The African Development Bank is to approve 100 million US dollars to finance the construction of a new hydro power in Ethiopia, this September according to Lamin G. Barrow, Ethiopia Country Office Resident Representative of the African Bank.

The hydro electric power project will consist of two power plants with a total potential capacity of producing 371 MW (1680 GWH) annually.

It is expected that the project will cost more than 400 million US dollars with the African Bank financing a quarter of the projected cost and the remainder being co-financed from other financial institutions.