22 August 2008
Addis Ababa — Ethiopian exports to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the first six months of the year 2008 more than doubled over export levels from the first six months of 2007, the US embassy here said yesterday.
"From January-June 2008, Ethiopia's AGOA exports reached USD $9.7 million, surpassing the USD $8.9 million achieved during the entire 2007 calendar year," it said in a statement adding that the country's AGOA exports from January-June 2007 totalled $4.4 million.
According to the embassy, in the first six months of 2008, total Ethiopian exports to the US also rose 89 percent, to USD $70 million from USD $37 million in the same period last year.
The embassy also disclosed that the growth of the country's exports to the U.S. is much greater than its average export growth rate of around 25%.
The textile and garments sector, long considered an under performer given its potential in Ethiopia and the competitive advantage offered under the AGOA zero tariff Preference, achieved the highest total exports with an impressive increase of over 160 percent, the statement added.
Accordingly, other products also recorded significant increases including foliage/bouquet filler (115 percent), live plants (122 percent), and fruits/nuts (1,495 percent).
"We see great potential for Ethiopia to increase exports to the U.S. under AGOA in general and in the textile and garments sector in particular," the statement quoted Addis Alemayehu, Chief of Party of USAID's VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program as having said.
"With many new investments in the pipeline, our program has focused its support to the Ethiopian Textile and Garments Manufacturers Association (ETGAMA) in order to continue this robust winning streak." The VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is said to be the only stand-alone trade promotion program in Africa working to increase exports to the US under AGOA.
USAID's VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program has been operating in Ethiopia for the last three years.
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