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Ethiopian
AGOA exports double in first half of '08
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ADDIS
ABEBA(August 22, 2008) - Ethiopian exports to the
United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
in the first six months of the year 2008 more than doubled over export
levels from the first six months of 2007, the US embassy here said
yesterday.
"From January-June 2008, Ethiopia's AGOA exports reached USD
$9.7 million, surpassing the USD $8.9 million achieved during the
entire 2007 calendar year," it said in a statement adding that
the country's AGOA exports from January-June 2007 totaled $4.4 million.
According to the embassy, in the first six months of 2008, total Ethiopian
exports to the US also rose 89 percent, to USD $70 million from USD
$37 million in the same period last year.
The embassy also disclosed that the growth of the country's exports
to the U.S. is much greater than its average export growth rate of
around 25%.
The textile and garments sector, long considered an under performer
given its potential in Ethiopia and the competitive advantage offered
under the AGOA zero tariff
Preference, achieved the highest total exports with an impressive
increase of over 160 percent, the statement added.
Accordingly, other products also recorded significant increases including
foaliage/bouquet filler (115 percent), live plants (122 percent),
and fruits/nuts (1,495 percent).
"We see great potential for Ethiopia to increase exports to the
U.S. under AGOA in general and in the textile and garments sector
in particular," the statement quoted Addis Alemayehu, Chief of
Party of USAID's VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program as having said.
"With many new investments in the pipeline, our program has focused
its support to the Ethiopian Textile and Garments Manufacturers Association
(ETGAMA) in order to continue this robust winning streak."
The VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program, funded by the United States Agency
for
International Development (USAID), is said to be the only stand-alone
trade promotion program in Africa working to increase exports to the
US under AGOA.
USAID's VEGA Ethiopia AGOA+ Program has been operating in Ethiopia
for the last three years. |
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