Ethiopia’s Pulses and Oilseeds export has been flourishing in recent years as the agricultural sector has the major share in the country’s export, State Minister of Trade and Regional Integration Yasmin Wohabrebbi noted.
Addressing the Public-Private Dialogue Forum on the Pulses and Oilseeds Sector today, Yasmin said that Ethiopia’s agricultural exports have been massively increased in recent years both in quality and revenue which has also the highest share in the country’s export revenue.
Stating that pulses and oilseeds has also the biggest share in the agriculture exports next to coffee and other agricultural products, she pointed out the country secured about 2.6 billion USD from export during the past five months as pulses and oilseeds share has been increasing.
Last year, the country secured more than 675 million USD from Pulses and oilseeds exports which shows that Ethiopia has become a favorite in this sector in the global market.
The government has been working diligently to register the recently improved achievements in the sector by designing and executing various enabling initiatives to encourage the export trade, she affirmed.
For the past six years, the government has undertaken a comprehensive homegrown economic reform to transform each sector and realize structural transformation by resolving various bottlenecks.
For the state minister, the export trade has already shown encouraging achievements following the recently executed macroeconomic reform which manifests the priority given by the government for the sector.
Multifaceted endeavors have also been undertaken by the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration in collaboration with pertinent stakeholders to increase production and productivity, and modernize the marketing system, she revealed.
The need for reinforcing activities in collaboration with all stakeholders to eradicate contraband trade is essential, she said, adding properly utilizing the opportunity that the AfCFTA brings to the continent’s market is also crucial.
Ethiopian Pulses, Oilseeds, and Spices Exporters Association (EPOSEA) President Edao Abdi said the association has been instrumental in promoting the country’s export trade in the global market by working in close collaboration with the government and other pertinent stakeholders.
He stressed the need to continue cementing stakeholder collaboration to properly cope with the demand of the global competition in the sector.
The country plans to secure 5 billion USD from exports within a year, as the last five months’ achievements clearly show progress.
Source: FBC