Ethiopian Exports

       Ethiopia, we have seen, is a land of many diverse climates and geographical features. There are major rivers and more arid regions. The high plateaus are fertile yet for the most part undeveloped. The country also has small reserves of gold, platinum, copper, and natural gas. 

It’s biggest exports are agricultural products. Coffee, cotton, and sesame seeds make up a large portion of those agricultural exports. 

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A new export from the country has been electric. Ethiopia seems poised to become a major power hub for the region after the completion of a massive dam project in 2017. (1) The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam will help the country to sell even more Electricity. This would be a stabilizing force for the economy of a country that has been plagued with draught, and yet relies on agriculture for it’s main export. 

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     Ethiopia has always had strong exports. During the years that the Aksum controlled Ethiopia they exported items very much like they export today. Gold and Emeralds, iron and salt, were all important and made Ethiopia a vital trading partner in the Indian Ocean. Yet even with these metals and other nonperishable items to trade, agricultural products, like grain, were the majority of Ethiopia’s exports. (2) At the time, the Roman Empire had a huge need for grain to feed it’s growing urban population. For a period of time Ethiopia became the primary source of Rome’s grain supply. In Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, the Aksum is said to be a “metropolis”. This shows us just how large and crucial this area had become in the world of trade. (3)

    Even though Ethiopia is a country rich in gold and other metals and minerals, that has not translated into a strong income for the nation during modern times. Many different countries have access to mining licenses and have begun to seek out more gold and mineral deposits across the country. It is quite unfortunate that gold mining is said to use child labor according to The US Department of Labor. There is support throughout the world to assist Ethiopia in developing better geographical data to move the mining industry forward. Diversification is vital to Ethiopia’s economy.  “… if well managed and well supported, the Ethiopian mineral sector has the potential to make a difference in the economic development of Ethiopia and to contribute to the poverty reduction agenda,” (4) 

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     Agriculture today makes up nearly half of Ethiopia’s total exports. (5)

As late as the last century tenant farming was active within the country. As the government attempted to intervene, lands were broken up and dispersed and then later organized into farming cooperatives. These practices never reflected an improvement of agricultural production, and were eventually abandoned and replaced with a free-market system. (6)

    Although coffee is the main cash crop of Ethiopia it is produced mainly by family farmers, not by major corporations. Cotton farming however is done in a plantation style in the lower altitudes. (7)

    Ethiopia has always had a presence in world trade. The Queen of Sheba is said to have taken great gifts to Solomon, Europeans travelled all around Africa in search of Prester John and his great wealth and power, even the Silk Road from China and the spice route had a maritime stop in Ethiopia. It’s export business has a long strong history. Yet, these commodities have not yet reached their full potential. “Although the country has geological potential for the discovery of new, sizable oil, gas and mineral deposits, most of its extractive industry is still in its infancy stage.” (8) It is interesting to note that although Ethiopia’s largest exports go to countries within the region, Kuwait, Somalia, and Saudi Arabia, China is the next largest consumer of Ethiopian goods. (9) This shows the maintenance of that Silk Road trade route that has been so formative to Asia, Europe, and Africa. 

1. Omono Eremionkhale. “Ethiopia Earns $123 Million in Electricity Exports Between 2015 and 2016.” Ventures Africa, April 14, 2016. Accessed July 25, 2016. http://venturesafrica.com/ethiopia-earns-123-million-in-electricity-exports-between-2015-and-2016/.
2. “Kingdom of Aksum", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Aksum#Foreign_relations.2C_trade_and_economy.
3. John Reader, Africa: A Biography of the Continent (New York: Vintage Books, 1999), 201, 215.
4. The World Bank. “Can Ethiopia’s Resource Wealth Contribute to its Growth and Transformation?” last modified January 26, 2015. Accessed July 25, 2016. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/01/26/ethiopia-extractives-mining-strategic-assessment-mineral-sector
5. “Ethiopia”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopia.
6.  “Agriculture in Ethiopia", https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_in_Ethiopia.
7. World’s Top Exports. “Ethiopia’s Top 10 Exports.” Last modified July 15, 2016. Accessed July 25, 2016. http://www.worldstopexports.com/ethiopias-top-10-exports/
8.  The World Bank. “Can Ethiopia’s Resource Wealth Contribute to its Growth and Transformation?” last modified January 26, 2015. Accessed July 25, 2016. http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/01/26/ethiopia-extractives-mining-strategic-assessment-mineral-sector
9.  OEC. "Ethiopia." Accessed July 25, 2016. http:// atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/eth/.