Under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), the Ethiopian Investment Board has guardedly enacted a law that permits foreign participation in the import, export, wholesale, and retail trade businesses.
The Board has approved a directive that outlines commodity restrictions and other prerequisites for import and export trade.
Foreign businesses looking to get a coffee export permit will need to present evidence of having procured at least USD 10 million worth of coffee each year for at least three consecutive years leading up to the permit application.
The threshold goes down to USD 5 million a year for oilseed export permits, and USD one million a year for khat. The directive does not outline requirements for livestock exports.
Dagato Kumbe, deputy head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), says more details will be disclosed in the coming week.
“There is a huge amount of interest from foreign investors. [The directive] will bring massive change in the trade system,” he said.
The liberalization is part of the second Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda (HGER). Dagato says the decision was not an easy one to make.
“We paid attention to how we can balance the sector for local investors as well,” he told The Reporter. “We have a strategy to govern the implementation process.”
Manufacturers or official agents representing manufacturers will be able to attain import permits for their products, while firms that already have an export manufacturing business in the country can also apply for import permits.
The import of strategic products such as fertilizers and petroleum products, however, will remain strictly under state domain.
The directive also sets out floor area thresholds for foreign retail businesses looking to open supermarkets in Ethiopia with 2,000 square meters as the minimum.
Source Reporter
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed (PhD), the Ethiopian Investment Board has guardedly enacted a law that permits foreign participation in the import, export, wholesale, and retail trade businesses.
The Board has approved a directive that outlines commodity restrictions and other prerequisites for import and export trade.
Foreign businesses looking to get a coffee export permit will need to present evidence of having procured at least USD 10 million worth of coffee each year for at least three consecutive years leading up to the permit application.
The threshold goes down to USD 5 million a year for oilseed export permits, and USD one million a year for khat. The directive does not outline requirements for livestock exports.
Dagato Kumbe, deputy head of the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC), says more details will be disclosed in the coming week.
“There is a huge amount of interest from foreign investors. [The directive] will bring massive change in the trade system,” he said.
The liberalization is part of the second Homegrown Economic Reform Agenda (HGER). Dagato says the decision was not an easy one to make.
“We paid attention to how we can balance the sector for local investors as well,” he told The Reporter. “We have a strategy to govern the implementation process.”
Manufacturers or official agents representing manufacturers will be able to attain import permits for their products, while firms that already have an export manufacturing business in the country can also apply for import permits.
The import of strategic products such as fertilizers and petroleum products, however, will remain strictly under state domain.
The directive also sets out floor area thresholds for foreign retail businesses looking to open supermarkets in Ethiopia with 2,000 square meters as the minimum.
Source Reporter