Ethiopian Cooperative Commission has unveiled plans to consolidate 40,000 similar cooperatives into 10,000 entities as part of a comprehensive reform initiative aiming to bolster the financial resilience of cooperative societies and streamline human resource utilization.
The Ethiopian Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), a private sector initiative to govern ethics and conduct of companies in the country, was launched on Saturday October 26 at the African Union Commission Headquarters, Capital reported.
Tadesse Haile, State minister of Industry (MoI), said at the launching ceremony that most businesses in Ethiopia are still operating under traditional norms of business management and practices.
Ethiopia exported just 183 tons of cotton out of several thousand tons of surplus production in the 2011-12 financial year.
The exports for the fiscal year were executed after the government lifted its 18 month export ban in March of 2012.
Ethiopian cotton went to Portugal earning 5.1 million birr according to a report released by the Ministry of Trade. Exports would have been higher if it had not been for the ban said a manager of the Ethiopian Cotton Producers and Experts Association.
Cotton growers in Ethiopia called for the establishment of a federal authority designated to address the industry at a consultative meeting with the representatives from the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research and the ministries of Agriculture and Industry.
Their proposal was supported by representative from the textile factories, agriculture experts, entomologists, chemical and pesticide companies.
The need for a designated federal authority is due to complaints that the Ministry of Agriculture bureau designed to handle agriculture investment has been unable to address the issues affecting the industry.
Ethiopian Cotton Production has fallen short of the requirements of the sector by tens of thousands of tons according to the Ethiopian Cotton Producers Ginners and Exporters Association at the General Assembly held at the Sheraton Addis Hotel.
In spite of the lift of the export ban the Ministry of Industry gives priority to local demands. This means that growers will require approval from the Textile Industry Development Institute and the Ministry of Agriculture to export to a still weak international market.
The meeting was attended by Tadesse Haile, State Minister for Industry, and Wondirad Mandefro State Minister for Agriculture.