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Export
Products
Major
exports include:
Coffee; hides, skin and leather products; textile and garments;
cereal, pulses and oilseeds; meat products and live cattle; fruits
and vegetable; cut flowers. Other export commodities include spices,
civet, beverages, beeswax, gall-stone and fish.
Coffee
Being the origin of coffee arabica, Ethiopia has immense potential
to offer the world market a wide variety of flavors of organically
produced, washed and sun-dried coffee. Flavors range from the fruity
flavor of Ghimbi to the winery flavor of Limu to the cheesy flavor
of Illubabor to the mocha flavors of Yirga cheffe and Harar. Today,
coffee consumers worldwide are appreciating the value of organic
coffee's natural aroma and flavor. More than 90 percent of the coffee
harvested in Ethiopia is organically grown. The inherently superior
quality of Ethiopian highland arabica coffee is unmatched, particularly
in flavor and aroma. Ethiopia also produces several types of coffee,
the water soluble extracts of which can be used for hot beverages,
iced drinks, ice creams and in the confectionary industry.
Leather
and leather products:
Ethiopia offers a wide range of processed and semi-processed hides
and skins to the world market. Some of the products, such as Ethiopian
highland sheepskin (which has gained an international reputation
for making gloves), are known for their quality and natural characteristics.
Ethiopian hide and skin exports include pickled sheep skin, wet
blue sheep skin, crust sheep skin, wet blue goat skin, crust goat
skin, crust cow hides, finished garment leather, finished glove
leather, lining/upper leather, suede leather, full grain leather,
embossed leather and patent leather. The export of finished leather
and leather products (such as leather garments, footwear, gloves,
bags and other leather articles) is also highly promising.
Live
animals and meat:
With the largest livestock population in Africa, Ethiopia has an
ample supply base for the export of live animals and meat. Its livestock
resources are estimated at 27 million cattle, 24 million sheep and
18 million goats. Livestock husbandry is mostly carried out under
natural grazing, making the meat and meat products obtained from
the animals very tasty and nutritionally healthy for human consumption.
Ethiopia's main exports of live animals and meat products include
steers and yearlings; lowland sheep and goats; fresh and chilled
lamb and mutton carcass; fresh and chilled goat carcass; fresh and
chilled veal carcass and beef four quarter; fresh and chilled boneless
veal and beef; frozen lamb, mutton and goat carcass and veal and
beef special cuts.
Textile
Fabrics and Garments:
The textile industry is the largest manufacturing industry in the
country. There are more than fourteen major state-owned and private
textile and garment factories. The industry employs about 30,000
workers and represents 36% of the entire manufacturing industry.
The main textile products manufactured in the country are cotton
and nylon fabrics, acrylic yarn, woolen and waste cotton blankets
and sewing thread. The domestic potential of cotton production as
basic raw material is far more than the demand of the currently
installed spinning capacity and the availability of cheap labor
is one of the major parameters for considering this industrial sector
as one of the strategic industries for export development.
Oilseeds
and Pulses:
Ethiopian oilseeds and pulses are known for their flavor and nutritional
value as they are mostly produced organically. For instance, the
Ethiopian white sesame seed is used as a reference for grading in
international markets. In terms of quantity, in 1996-1997, for example,
Ethiopia exported 87 thousand tons of oilseeds and 20 thousand tons
of pulses. Ethiopia's major oilseed and pulse exports include sesame
seeds, nigger seeds, linseeds, sunflower seeds, groundnuts, rapeseeds,
castor oil seeds, pumpkin seeds, haricot beans, pea-beans, horse
beans and chick peas. Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Israel, EU countries,
and some Asian and neighboring African countries constitute the
major markets for Ethiopia's oilseeds and pulse exports.
Fruits,
Vegetables and Flowers
With a favorable climate, abundant labor, land and water resources,
most regions of the country are suitable for the production of a
wide range of tropical and sub-tropical fruits, vegetables and flowers.
The major vegetable export products include potatoes, green beans,
okra, melon, white and red onions, shallots, cabbage, leeks, beetroot,
carrots, green chilies, tomatoes and lettuce. The main exportable
fruits include oranges, mandarin grapefruit, mangos, guavas, lemons
and limes, while cut flower exports include statice, allium, roses
and carnations.
Tea
The quality of tea mainly depends on climatic conditions, the type
of soil upon which the plant grows and the method of processing.
In Ethiopia, tea is mostly grown in the highland dense forest regions
where the land is fertile and thus the use of fertilizer is very
minimal. Moreover, the availability of abundant and cheap labor
in the country has made the use of manual weeding, instead of chemical
seeding, possible. Because of this mostly organic cultivation, Ethiopian
tea is increasingly sought for its aroma and natural flavors. This
is confirmed by the "International Gold Star" award for
quality, recently given by B.D.I in Madrid, Spain to one of the
major Ethiopian tea exporters: Tea Production and Marketing Enterprise.
Natural
Gum
Ethiopia is endowed with distinct climatic conditions that enable
it to grow diverse plant species, which are used for industrial
and pharmaceutical purposes. Acacia, commiphora and boswellia are
examples of one group of plant species that grows in the arid and
semi-arid areas yielding gum. The increasing consumption of convenience
foods has enhanced the growth of gum production and use over the
past several years. As in most other sectors of the additive industry,
increasing health consciousness has tended to fuel the demand for
thickeners of natural origin. The major gum products produced mainly
for export are gum olibanum derived from boswellia, gum myrrh and
oppoponex derived from commiphora and gum Arabic derived from acacia
species. Apart from their pharmaceutical applications, these products
have a wide-range of industrial uses in such areas as beverages,
candies, chewing gum, confectionaries, dairy products, gelatins,
nut products, puddings and canned vegetables. Typical applications
for gum products include: adhesive thickeners; thickeners, stabilizers,
flavor, fixatives and emulsifying agents in food products; clarification
in beverages; release agents for rubber products and formulations
in cosmetics.
Mineral
products
According to studies, there are diverse mineral deposits in various
parts of the country that can meet export standards. Minerals currently
being exported include gold, platinum, marble, granite and tantalum.
Export of these minerals is on a very limited scale relative to
their immense export potential. Other metallic and non-metallic
substances that have also been identified in the country include
copper, lead, zinc, silver, gypsum, limestone, quartz and pyrite.
Most Ethiopian mineral products are exportable to markets in East
and Southern Africa and in Asia and Oceania. Due to freight costs,
Ethiopian exports have an advantage in these regions of the world
over established exports from Europe and North America. Ethiopia
has also recently entered into the export of high quality dimensional
stones (i.e., different types of unprocessed blocks, as well as
processed marble, granite and limestone suitable for both internal
and external uses.
Export
Related Facilities
Please Visit: www.ethioexport.org
Major
imports include:
Aircraft; motor vehicles, agricultural and industrial machinery,
equipment and spare parts; chemicals and pharmaceuticals; petroleum
products; food products; garments and footwear; building materials.
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Links
Ethiopian Coffee and Tea
Ethiopian Business Development Service
Network
Ethiomarket
Ethiopian Shipping Lines
Ethiopian Air Lines - Stockholm
National Bank of Ethiopian
Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce
Ethiopian Export Promotion Agency
For further Information:
E-mail:-
ethemb.investment@telia.com
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