Taking over the U.S and China markets, European countries have become the major importers of Ethiopian commodities during the budget year of Ethiopia concluded July 7, 2020.
A new analysis by Cepheus Investment Advisory, a private equity firm shows that EU markets, rather than the US or China, are driving Ethiopia’s export growth. “The Netherlands became the biggest buyer of Ethiopian exports in FY 2019-20, absorbing $308mn or 10 percent of total exports. Together with Switzerland and Germany, these three European nations increased their purchases of Ethiopian goods by over $300mn last year, equivalent to the entire export increase (from $2.66bn to $2.99bn) in the same period,” said the paper, entitled, ‘Ethiopia’s Recent Trade Performance: A Data Pack and some observations’.
Below are some of the key findings of the analysis:
“Export mix: The shift in Ethiopia’s top export markets reflects a gradually changing product mix, especially the sharp rise in gold exports (now 7 percent of total exports, all purchased by Switzerland) as well as in flower exports (14 percent of total and mostly going to the Netherlands).
The exceptional rise in gold exports was helped by policy reforms at the central bank, while the jump in rose exports, besides revealing large expansions at several companies, is also a very positive reflection of the well-established air cargo services that—thanks to Ethiopian Airlines—allow for the delivery of roughly 5mn rose stems to the Dutch cut-flower auctions on a daily basis.
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