The logistics power arm, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL), embarks on key consultations with potential customers following the arrival of the first reefer containers. Potential buyers signal readiness to tap into the potential business which is convenient for fresh commodity export.
About a week ago, the refrigerated boxes that were manufactured in China and transported by the Jigjiga vessel finally made their way to ESL’s home port in Djibouti.
According to Demissew Benti, Corporate Communication Head at ESL, the state logistics enterprise has assigned a certified entity to inspect the containers at the Port before beginning of logistic activities to the center.
“Our inspection team has been assigned to conduct quality assurance on products for a defect check before they are loaded for shipment. The latest inspection is also common prior to transporting from Djibouti to Ethiopia,” Demissew said.
He added that since it is the first time for ESL to possess such kind of special containers, staffs are also going to be exposed in areas of handling capability and in terms of storage, use of electricity and general management.
“Trainings will be provided for ESL staffs that will facilitate the seamless workflow of the containers on the system,” the Corporate Communication Head told Capital.
He added that ESL will carry out discussions with fruit and vegetable associations, and stakeholders who are looking forward to start using the containers.
“We decided to buy these containers not because it is profitable but because we want to ease the logistics crunch observed in the area,” Demissew explained.
“Based on that we have also targeted other logistics companies to use them on a lease basis,” he said, adding, “To realize this, we are under discussion with logistics companies to use the containers.”
As per ESL projections, the containers will be in use in the coming couple of weeks.
According to the plan, at the current stage the major hub will be at Mojo Dry port but in the future ESL will have centers at potential production areas.
“It is a must and we will also have temporary reefer terminals in different locations,” Demissew pointed out.
So far ESL has established a cold chain at its Mojo Dry Port facility and the procurement of reefer containers has included all the required equipment to operate the cold containers.The generators are said to be the equipment that will be fixed on vessels to support the cooling process on the voyage of reefer containers to their destinations.
Roba Megersa, former CEO of ESL, who left the docket late last March, recently told Capital that ESL has already facilitated two hectares of a dedicated terminal at Mojo for reefer cargo handling and power plug-in service.
In total, the latest procurement consumed USD 976,500 or USD 32,550 per container that includes accessories.
Regarding the arrival of the first 30 forty feet MGSS reefer containers and mounted generators, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA) has expressed its much delightfulness.
Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of EHPEA, said that for the past several years his association has been advocating for the use of reefer containers to boost the horticulture sector particularly for the fruit export.
He said that the coming of the stated amount of containers that Ethiopia owned for the first time has created enthusiasm in the horticulture industry, “It is an inception that shows that the sector will expand regarding sea based logistics.”
“We believe that it is one step forward and symbolic for the expectation of the future,” Tewodros told Capital by adding that more similar containers are entailed to fetch the required benefit from the sector export.
“Through our platform we have become updated and the status and sector actors are interested to work with us. Foreign players are also showing their intentions to be involved in the sector,” the Executive Director said, adding, “Those who were reluctant to enter in the country’s investment opportunities because of the logistics challenge are also now showing their interest.”
The move that is taking by the logistics operator is also stated as a big hope since potential perishable commodity buyers are expressing their desire to order from here. These cargo boxes will now support the bulk mobility of the perishable industry, and experts in the sector speculate that the country’s fruit industry will boom at higher trajectories.
“In the past, potential customers had ordered hundreds of containers but there weren’t ample boxes in the containers. Now this is a major challenge that will enable us to tap the benefit that producers and sellers should have,” the association head recalled.
He said that now supermarket chains are also exploring.
“In the coming weeks we will discuss with logistics actors and will identify details like rates and other required information to embark the use of reefer containers,” he added.
He underlined that the sector needs more containers to see meaningful change on the business, “We expect thousands of containers to be included on the mobility.”
Experts show the case that in 2022 Kenya shipped 5,000 reefer containers when it comes to Ethiopia it is only about 15.
According to Demissew, ESL is also on the pipeline to include additional about 20 reefer containers in its route in the near future.

• IMF projects Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy to grow by 3.6% in 2023 and 4.2% in 2024.
• Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya are forecast to lead the pack of major performers with growth rates of 8.3%, 6.2%, and 5.3% respectively, in 2023.
• Six low-income African countries, including Ethiopia and Tanzania, are projected to post stronger growth rates above 5% in 2023 and 2024.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that the economy of Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will grow by 3.6 per cent in 2023 and accelerate to 4.2 per cent in 2024. According to the World Economic Outlook report released on Tuesday, the growth in the region will be slower in 2023 due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis, but will recover the following year.
The IMF report reveals that emerging markets and developing economies are expected to have stronger economic prospects than advanced economies, but this varies widely across regions. Five oil-exporting countries in the SSA, namely Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, Chad, and Equatorial Guinea, are projected to register a combined growth rate of 3.2 per cent in 2023 and 3.0 per cent in 2024.
However, Equatorial Guinea is the only country among the five whose economy is expected to contract by 1.8 per cent in 2023 and 8.2 per cent in 2024. In contrast, Senegal is projected to register the highest growth in the SSA, with 8.3 per cent in 2023 and a double-digit growth of 10.6 per cent in 2024. Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, is expected to post growth rates of 3.2 per cent and 3.0 per cent in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
South Africa, one of Africa’s most industrialized economies, is expected to grow by 0.1 per cent in 2023 and 1.8 per cent in 2024. Among low-income African countries, Ethiopia, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burkina Faso, and Mali are projected to post stronger growth rates above 5 per cent in 2023 and 2024. Meanwhile, among middle-income countries, Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, and Kenya are forecast to lead the pack of major performers with growth rates of 8.3 per cent, 6.2 per cent, and 5.3 per cent respectively, in 2023.
The IMF report cautions that while GDP is expected to grow by 5.1 per cent on average in low-income developing countries over 2023-2024, projected per capita income growth averages only 2.8 per cent during the same period, which is below the average for middle-income economies (3.2 per cent). This falls below the path needed for standards of living to converge with those in middle-income economies, the report says.
The IMF also warns that many economies are still absorbing the shocks of the Ukraine crisis and the outbreak of COVID-19, while the recent tightening in global financial conditions is hampering recovery. As a result, many economies will likely experience slower income growth in 2023 amid rising joblessness. The IMF report states that “over the medium term, the prospects for growth now seem dimmer than in decades.”

The 2023 edition of Agrilevante, to be held at the Bari exhibition centre from 5 to 8 October, was presented at the Ciheam of Bari. The technical content of the exhibition is very high and the conference programme is extensive, devoted to agronomy, electronic and robotic technologies, as well as public financing for agriculture and policies for the development of the primary sector in the entire Mediterranean area.
Agrilevante is the place for technologies but also the place for ideas and projects. This was the message that the General Manager of FederUnacoma, Simona Rapastella, launched today at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute in Bari when presenting the seventh edition of Agrilevante, the biennial exhibition of machinery and technology for agriculture in the Mediterranean area. The event – organised by FederUnacoma in partnership with the Fiera del Levante, with the support of the Puglia Region’s Agriculture Department, and in collaboration with the Municipality of Bari and AIA-ARE Puglia, the universities of Bari and Foggia, and the Ciheam of Bari itself – is a major workshop for the development of the primary economy. Businesspeople and farmers from Mediterranean Europe, the Balkan countries, the Middle East, as well as North and sub-Saharan Africa, will be in Bari – from 5 to 8 October next, in the halls of the exhibition centre – to learn about the most advanced technologies for arable crops, animal husbandry, fruit growing, and above all viticulture and olive growing, but also to investigate the most topical political and economic issues and the development models that are envisaged for this vast region.
The technical depth of the exhibition is underlined not only by the presence at the show of all the best mechanical production for agriculture and gardening, and by the sections specifically dedicated to robotics and the most advanced electronic systems, but also by the FederUnacoma competition for new products with high technological content. “The competition,” noted Rapastella during the presentation, “rewards as Technical Innovations those models, selected by a jury of experts, that introduce completely new solutions or improve already existing technologies, combining production efficiency with environmental sustainability and safety at work”.
The exhibition is structured to cover not only traditional agricultural sectors, but also the livestock sector. This includes specific technologies for livestock breeding and a large area housing hundreds of valuable cattle, horses, sheep, goats and poultry. Together with the New Hall – it was explained at the conference – Halls 19 and 20 will be utilized, while specific open-air areas will be dedicated to digital and robotic technologies and to the trials of the “Contoterzista Driver Trophy” competition promoted by Edagricole. The programme of conventions, meetings, and workshops, organised in cooperation with the University of Bari and Foggia, the Ciheam of Bari, and agricultural and agro-mechanical publishers, is expected to be very rich. Among the meetings with a technical content, those dedicated to olive growing, typical Apulian crops, innovative crops for southern regions, and 4.0 applications specific to Mediterranean crops are already on the calendar. In terms of policies for the sector, meetings have already been scheduled dedicated to the new CAP, NRRP and RDP funding, and education and training, with the aim of identifying new professional profiles and new paths for agriculture and mechanisation.
“All this in a setting with a strong international character,” said Rapastella again, “where great importance will be given to the new structure reserved for official foreign delegations, located behind the Congress Centre, which will be equipped to support business-to-business meetings organised by FederUnacoma in collaboration with the ICE Agency”. “Businesspeople are expected from more than 60 countries,” concluded the FederUnacoma General Manager, “while no fewer than 35 will be official delegations”.

Ending global hunger is an “affordable goal” despite the ongoing food crisis but requires a rethink of development aid and finance, according to a new report.
Analysis carried out by Economist Impact with global agrifoods-focused research partnership CGIAR showed that increases in development funding alone have been insufficient to bring down food insecurity, with almost 670 million people projected to face hunger by 2030.
The report found that too little investment had been directed towards long-term improvements in food production, with less than 7.5 per cent of overseas aid spent on research and innovation to tackle the root causes of hunger and malnutrition in 2021. Almost half of overseas development assistance (ODA) for food and agriculture was spent on food aid.
The report, Ending hunger: the role of agri-food financing, highlighted an estimated funding gap of $33-50 billion a year, of which at least US$14 billion would need to come from ODA. Among its recommendations was a reform of international financing institutions (IFIs), such as the World Bank and IMF, including a reallocation of unused currency reserves known as Special Drawing Rights from high-income countries to low-income countries.
“While humanitarian food aid is a natural response to a crisis, funding research and innovation allows us to break free of the crisis response cycle and build long-term resilience,” said Claudia Sadoff, executive managing director of CGIAR, which supports science, research and innovation for greater food security across the Global South.
“Investment in innovation takes time to bear fruit, but it pays off forever. With urgent action and growing investment, an end to world hunger, and the possibility of sustainable food systems, are within reach.”
As part of the report, the authors interviewed development experts including Prasad Gopalan, Former Global Sector Manager, Agribusiness and Forestry at IFC; Rasmus Egendal, Deputy Director, Government Partnership Division, World Food Programme (WFP); and Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.
To increase the volume and impact of funding for more resilient food systems, the report made three recommendations, which included scaling up ODA, tapping new sources of private sector funding, and maximizing existing investments.
The report was published as the World Bank and IMF hold their spring meetings in Washington D.C. amid rising pressure to increase support for low-income countries to address the ongoing food, climate and debt crises.
“IFIs could do more to provide support. There is definitely progress, but not at the pace that we need to see it,” Rasmus Egendal, Deputy Director, Government Partnership Division, World Food Programme (WFP), told the report authors.
“We are not seeing a commensurate increase in investment in longer-term food security. This only adds pressure on humanitarian needs.”
Experts emphasised the disproportionate impact of systemic improvements in agriculture on reducing hunger. For example, a single percentage point increase in annual growth of agricultural production in Nigeria has been found to lift six million people out of poverty. Similarly, giving small-scale farmers modern storage equipment such as hermetic silos and storage bags can reduce food loss by 40 per cent, ensuring more food reaches supply chains.
“Investment in agriculture can be an engine for economic growth [by] alleviating poverty and giving people the ability to purchase the food they need,” said Saharah Moon Chapotin, executive director of the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research.