ADDIS ABABA – The Ethiopian Standards Agency says it is working on intensifying quality assurance surveillance works to contribute to boosting the country’s export trade.
The agency said it actually conducts extensive quality control on both import and export items. Accordingly, it has made quality control for 1.2 million metric tons of imported and 400,000 metric tons of exported items during the nine months of last fiscal year.
But considering the economic advantage to the country, the agency is particularly working on quality assurance on export items like agriculture, manufacturing and mining. Apart from this, market and factory surveillances are underway in order to check the overall export progress and process of the country.
Hamza Ahmed, manufactured products exporter told The Ethiopian Herald that though the export performance of the country showed increments from time to time, the volume does not meet the target set by the government. As to him, the government should specifically focus on quality control in order to compete in the international market.
Some of products are being returned from the port because of their quality control. Accordingly, the extensive and fruitful quality control also helps to alleviate such failures, Hamza noted. He also suggested that producers and exporters should also focus on quality so as to increase their income and boost the country’s export performance.
He also emphasized that the government should work on creating awareness for the participants and all stakeholders of import-export activity.
According to the document, some export items were returned even though they passed quality control before their shipment. Specially, afla-toxins, pesticide residues and salmonella are among the quality problems of the exported goods. The agency has aimed to give due attention for increasing pre and post quality controlling mechanism and awareness creation campaigns, the report stated.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Trade and Industry also announced that 797.7 million USD was obtained from the export during the first quarter of the Ethiopian fiscal year. Mengistu Hiluf, Plan and Budget Director with the Ministry said that from among the amount, 586.1 million USD was earned from agricultural products and 115.1 million USD were from manufacturing, while the rest from mining and other products.
As to him, the revenue surpassed the performance that was obtained last year same period by over 95 million USD.
The Ethiopian Herald, December 28/2019
BY HIZKEL HAILU
