The earnings of Ethiopia from AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, have been growing steadily, according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

Information and Public Relations Head with the ministry,Hailu Abebe, said when the preferential access to the US market was extended to Ethiopia in 2001, the country got 822,000 USD only .The amount reached four million USD in 2004 and is even better in 2005,even if the sales report for the year is not yet ready.

Despite sales of apparel, wooden sculptures, handicrafts works, businessmen engaged in the sector have not fully exploited the opportunity, the head observed.

Hailu said the government has been providing various incentives, which include loan services and free warehouses as well as training to enable the businesspeople become competitive in the international market.

The head further noted that businessmen should sustainably supply quality goods in demand by making use of the support rendered by the government.

The benefits derived from AGOA by other sub-Saharan African countries are far better than Ethiopia as they have been supplying the US market with the quality and quantity products, he stated.

The zero-import duty under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) of AGOA applies to more than 6,400 items and is in effect until September 30,2015. Presently, 37 sub-Saharan countries, including Ethiopia, are eligible for AGOA.

Latest AGOA Trade Data currently available on AGOA.info


Click here to view a sector profile of Ethiopia’s bilateral trade with the United States, disaggregated by total exports and imports, AGOA exports and GSP exports.

Other regularly updated trade statistics on AGOA.info include: (click each link to view)