Addis Ababa, 12 November 2007 (WIC) – The President of Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Dr. Mulatu Teshome said Ethiopia has earned close to 1 billion USD from pulses, oilseeds and spices in the 2013/4 fiscal year.
Addressing the participants of t the 4th International Conference on Pulses, Oilseeds and Species, the president said the sector contributed 920 million USD to the export earnings of the country with a share of over 28 per cent.
The growth trajectory that we have had observed in the last four years is very encouraging, notwithstanding that the country earns from the sector is still below what it would have potentially endowed, he added.
The president also said that Ethiopia has endowed with untapped and immense investment opportunities in the areas of agriculture with favorable climate which is suitable for the production of Pulses, Oilseeds and Spices.
He urged stakeholders to participate in the sector and do their level best in contributing to Ethiopia’s strong economic performance through value addition of Ethiopian pulses, oilseeds and spices.
He also called up on investors to invest in Ethiopia where there is availability of vast, virgin, fertile and cultivable land, abundance of trained and easily trainable labor force.
Ethiopia’s trade performance has improved since the commencement of GTP I in the 2010/20111 fiscal year. However, our exports remained dominated by agricultural primary commodities, and the observed performance was substantiated by increasing the volume of export, and not through value addition, the president underscored.
According to the president, the government is fully committed not only to boost the sector’s potential but also its operational capacity by making it more vibrant to meet the needs of international markets.
The conference is organized under the theme of “Global Partnership for Sustainable Market Growth” with the objective of boosting the sector and make benefit more the economy and all the stake holders in the value chain.
Ministers, ambassadors, stake holders and Ethiopian business partners were in attendance in this a two days conference.