ADAMA/ADDIS ABABA – The government intends to generate more revenue for next year by scaling-up industrial activities in the manufacturing sector such as agro-processing, leather and textiles in line with increasing the export of agricultural productivity at higher level, the Ministry of Trade and Industry stated.
In an exclusive interview with The Ethiopian Herald yesterday, Minister of Trade and Industry Fetlework Gebregziabher said the Ministry takes the initiative to promote the country’s export market, which mainly depends on agricultural products, to generate more revenue expected from the sector.
Fetlework also said the Ministry now relentlessly works on supporting domestic investors and expanding local manufacturing industries, despite problems related to foreign currency, market linkage, frequent interruption of electric power, inadequate raw materials, and security and stability issues.
The Ministry is now committed to strengthen the notable progresses and solve the problems identified in the sector, Fetlework said. The country prepared and finalized a document to join the World Trade Organization negotiating on subjects related to the national interest and that would ensure peoples’ benefit, she added.
Mengistu Hiluf, Director of Budget Planning and Evaluation with the Ministry, for his part said that even though the Ministry planned to collect 3.1 billion USD over the last nine months, it could only collect 1.9 billion USD, which accounts 61.2 percent of the plan, from export market.
According to him, the reason for such underperformance was mainly due to the low participation domestic manufacturing industries in the export sector, poor capacity of manufacturing industries in productivity, and less presentation in mining export among others.
Apart from the existing 1,990 industry, additional 1,567 small and medium scale manufacturing industries (SMEs) get license over the stated period. Of which, 212 of enterprises are transformed to medium and 76 to large scale industry, Mengistu explained.
According to him, such SMEs could generate job opportunity for over 44,784 citizens across the country.
Combating illegal trade, providing raw inputs for the agro-processing industrial parks, capitalizing more foreign currency, and providing continuous support and follow-up for local manufacturers are among the prior areas which needs due attention in the next fiscal year, Mengistu stated.
The Ethiopian Herald June 7,2019
BY ZELALEM GIRMA and HAILE DEMEKE
