Domestic products substituted import goods worth USD 1.9 billion during the past nine months of the fiscal year. Commenting on the achievement, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Revenues, and the Ministry of Industry stated that they would be able to achieve their plan for the current fiscal year.

The data of the Ministry of Industry shows that 663 manufacturing industries became operational in the first five months of the current fiscal year creating employment opportunities for 9,600 individuals. The manufacturing sector has increased its production capacity from 46% to 53% in the last nine months. In addition, the market share of the sector has also reached 37%. The Ministry of Industry, Melaku Alebel, said that attention would be given to identifying other foreign products which could be replaced with domestic products.

On the other hand, the agricultural sector is expected to increase by 6.3% in the current fiscal year. The Minister of Agriculture, Girma Amente, indicated that the country was able to fully substitute wheat and bear grain imports with domestic production. He also stated that his office was working to make Ethiopia self-sufficient in rice production over the coming three years. The country has been able to reduce rice import by 50% in the past nine months.

Source (including image): Ethiopian News Agency

Additional source: 2Merkato Archives