ADDIS ABABA
Ethiopia’s export revenue surged to $2.309 billion in the first two months of the fiscal year as booming gold and coffee shipments helped the country exceed government targets and offset weakness in manufacturing, the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration said Wednesday.
Receipts were 3.82% above the government’s $2.224 billion target, a surplus of $85.01 million, and 176% higher than the $836.658 million recorded in the same period a year earlier. Export volume reached 310,006 tons, 3.94% above the planned 298,253 tons.
The gains followed changes to foreign-exchange policy and central bank pricing aimed at drawing informal trade into official banking channels. Those measures, coupled with favorable global markets, boosted earnings from mining and agriculture, led by gold and coffee.
Mining generated $1.346 billion, reaching 120.23% of its $1.120 billion target. Gold accounted for almost all of that revenue, bringing in $1.344 billion from 6,404 tons shipped. Gold export volume reached 144.73% of the government’s target.
The performance marks a shift for a sector long affected by contraband trade and illegal smuggling along border areas. Central bank purchase incentives have helped redirect gold into official reserves and formal export channels.
Annual production from licensed and artisanal miners reached about 44 tonnes of gold, bringing overall gold export earnings to between $5.5 billion and $5.6 billion.
Ethiopia Adds Domestic Gold Refining
The government also inaugurated Ethiopia’s first National Precious Metals Refinery at the Bole Lemi Special Economic Zone in Addis Ababa, seeking to capture more value from the country’s expanding gold trade.
The $50 million facility is a joint venture between state-owned Ethiopian Investment Holdings, with a 51% stake, and Cairo-based Sam Precious Metals, which owns 49%. It has annual processing capacity exceeding 600 tonnes of precious metals.
The refinery is intended to reduce Ethiopia’s reliance on exports of raw, unrefined gold, historically shipped mainly to Dubai. It will allow assaying, refining, melting, casting and bullion minting to be carried out domestically.
The government aims to use the facility to establish Ethiopia as a regional refining hub, expand domestic jewelry production and improve transparency across the gold supply chain.
Agriculture generated $837.989 million from 440,153 tons of exports, with shipment volume reaching 112.57% of the government’s projection.
Coffee remained the leading agricultural export, earning $605.847 million from 90,300 tons. The performance followed supply-chain reforms intended to reduce intermediaries and enable direct trade between local producer cooperatives and specialty buyers in Europe, Asia and North America.
Other agricultural exports delivered mixed results. Pulses generated $60.770 million from 76,647 tons, exceeding projections. Live-animal exports reached 155,324 head, or 110.85% of the volume target, while revenue reached 130.83% of expectations.
Fruit and vegetable exports totaled 34,532 tons and generated 106.68% of planned revenue. Flower exports reached 96.63% of the revenue target on 15.191 billion stems.
Manufacturing continued to trail primary commodities. The sector exported 18,773 tons of goods, reaching 43.70% of its volume target. Revenue totaled $74.912 million, or 62.75% of the $119.378 million target.
Leather and leather products earned $6.345 million, reaching 119.63% of target, while meat and dairy exports generated $20.346 million, or 106.69% of target.
Cross-border electricity sales brought in $50.07 million, reaching 124.30% of the target. Food, beverage and pharmaceutical exports generated $15.172 million, or 60.83% of target, while metals and engineering brought in $10.732 million, reaching 24.92% of planned revenue.
The export surge has highlighted Ethiopia’s dependence on a small number of commodities. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have raised concerns about the concentration of export revenue in gold and coffee, which together account for more than four-fifths of the total, leaving the economy exposed to global price swings and external shocks.
The IMF has also cautioned against central bank gold-purchasing policies, saying elevated domestic purchase premiums can create fiscal and liquidity risks and add to inflationary pressures.
World Bank analysts have stressed that longer-term balance-of-payments stability requires stronger manufacturing exports. Continued industrial underperformance points to bottlenecks including infrastructure, power supply, access to raw materials and trade logistics.
