Ethiopia’s Export Earnings Rise 25.8% to $3.14bn in First Quarter

October 24, 2026 | By Semahegn Nigatu

Ethiopia generated 3.14 billion US dollars in export earnings during the first quarter of the 2019 Ethiopian fiscal year, up 25.75 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to figures released by the Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration.

The earnings exceeded the 2.49 billion US dollars recorded in the corresponding period of the 2018 fiscal year, an increase of 642.59 million US dollars, although they fell short of the government’s quarterly target of 3.25 billion US dollars. The performance represented 96.5 percent of the target.

Mining was the largest contributor to export receipts, generating 1.73 billion US dollars against a target of 1.68 billion US dollars. Revenue from the sector increased by 505.85 million US dollars, or 41.45 percent, from 1.22 billion US dollars a year earlier.

The ministry attributed the increase in mining earnings mainly to improvements in gold deliveries from traditional producers to the National Bank of Ethiopia following macroeconomic reforms.

Agricultural exports generated 1.22 billion US dollars, falling short of the 1.34 billion US dollar target but rising from 1.04 billion US dollars in the same period a year earlier. The increase amounted to 178.94 million US dollars.

Manufactured goods exports, by contrast, generated 111.40 million US dollars, below the target of 172.45 million US dollars and down slightly from 112.15 million US dollars a year earlier.

Electricity exports exceeded their target, achieving 121.1 percent of planned earnings, while mining reached 102.8 percent. Agriculture achieved 91.5 percent of its target and manufacturing 64.6 percent, highlighting uneven performance across the main export sectors.

The Ministry of Trade and Regional Integration also reported that exports of products under its direct monitoring generated 225.78 million US dollars, compared with a target of 174.03 million US dollars. That was an increase of 76.84 million US dollars from the 148.94 million US dollars recorded in the corresponding period a year earlier.

The government said stronger exports of pulses and oilseeds reflected tighter monitoring of illegal stockpiling, improved quality controls, more frequent revisions of reference prices in response to international market movements, and efforts by exporters to verify buyers and sales contracts.

It also cited stronger enforcement against illegal checkpoints and the commencement of Ethiopian railway services, which it said had reduced transport and logistics costs.

Source: FSX Business News