The prominent pencil manufacturer and player in the market, Apex Plc, disclosed that its sells have almost goes down to almost zero in the last five months after the government decided to suspend education because of COVID 19.
The company that is a pioneer and the only manufacturer of pencil in the country said that because of the pandemic its business is seriously affected.
The company told Capital that it has a capacity to produce about 400,000 pencils per day and actual production of 80,000, but since the pandemic forced the government to suspend education as of mid-March its sales dropped immediately.
“The situation push us to just settle wages for months without operation,” one of the senior management at the company, that produced Dot Pencil, said.
“For instance this time is the peak season for the stationary market, but there is no change in our market,” the senior management member, who demands anonymity, told Capital.
He reminded that during the past in this period not only the market demand is very high but shortage also occurred.
The company is not only the first to produce the stationary product in the country but its way of production makes it unique and one of the very few in the continent.
The major input for the pencil production is recycling scrap papers like used newspapers.
“We are not using wood or tree products like the traditional input for the pencil industry,” the source says adding “we are contributing for mitigating the environment impact since we use waste paper.”
Dot Pencil is well accepted in the country. Besides its quality it has played significant role to replace the imported pencils.
The source said that the company has a capacity to fill the local demand, meanwhile there are some imports including illegally imported products by the same brand of Apex.
“There were individuals who tried to use our brand and import the product from abroad, but they have been legally penalized,” the source explained.
The company located at Gelan, in the south east outskirt of Addis Ababa in Oromia region, has more than 160 employees.
“We are paying their salary meanwhile our sales and production is zero,” the source added.
The government disclosed that after the first COVID 19 case was reported on Friday March 13 schools all over the country were closed to control the pandemic.
Currently the global pandemic is significantly spreading not only in the world but also in Ethiopia.
The government has not yet set a given time frame when schools will come back to their operation, but because of the spread of the corona virus it is not expected that education centers will return soon.
Capital observed that the stationary market particularly that are directly associated with students has significantly dropped.
Sources at Apex also said that not only their business is affected by the situation but those who are engaged on wholesale and retailing of Dot Pencil are also affected. “It is easy to know the effect on others since they do not come and buy the product from us,” the source said.
Pencil maker Apex says sales down to zero
Avocado export goes via refrigerated container
The horticulture industry, which contributed half a billion dollar in the last budget year, is vying to use shipment to export its product. In the new scheme the highly anticipated refrigerated containers or referee containers will be used to export products through train via vessel.
Currently the horticulture industry is using airfreight to export its flower or fruit and vegetable products, while the sector actors claimed that using referee container and export products via vessel would make Ethiopia’s product more competitive in the international market.
Using the new scheme Hass variety avocado was exported on Saturday August 22, in a vessel for the first by refrigerated container. 
Ethiopian Horticulture Producers Exporters Association (EHPEA) announced that 25 tons of Hass variety avocado collected from 87 out growers in Merawi Koga irrigation area is exported to Europe using a referee container from Bahirdar, then by train from Mojo to Djibouti for the first time.
Tewodros Zewdie, Executive Director of EHPEA, said that it is a big step since the railway system is introduced.
The Director said agro logistics cost makes Ethiopia unable to be competitive so far, “particularly the referee container cost is very expensive due to that we could not tap the European and Middle East market, which is dominated by Latin American fruit and vegetable suppliers.”
He said that using the train is one step forward but the government should give special attention and should harmonize the railway system and improve the availability of empty referee container.
“Currently farms pay round trip costs for referee container including empty leg (empty containers) that are transported from Djibouti to farms,” Tewodros explained.
If the empty leg cost is slashed the cost of transportation will drop by 50 percent, according to him.
He recommended that the government should consider availing more referee containers and to provide subsidy like what Ethiopian Airlines has done for the floriculture sector.
The availability of consolidation facilities like cold house everywhere and to encourage the private sector to be engaged on the investment is stated as a game changer on the fruit and vegetable sector.
“We believe that Ethiopia will be competitive in the near future on the fruit and vegetable sector even better than the floriculture sector since the required smart and efficient agro logistics is improved,” Tewodros told Capital.
“In order to bring breakthrough result from fruit and vegetable sector there should be a turnaround in the perishable logistics system in the country,” he emphasized.
Koga Vege Agricultural Development Plc, which is founded in 2013 with an objective to boost rural economic development in the area around Bahir Dar, is the company behind the export of irrigated avocado to the European market.
In a Public Private Dialogue webinar on Attracting Investment to the Horticulture Sector a representative of Ethiopian Maritime Affairs Authority in charge of logistics transformation said that there is a cold chain project at Mojo Dry Port.
He said that the latest referee container shipment is a trial for the first time for the UK market. “Once this trial shipment achieved its target, I hope we will come up with good proposal for other horticulture actors to utilize this service,” the representative said.
“It will also give insight how we can support the requirement not only in Bahir Dar but adjacent area in Oromia, Arba Minch and south and western Ethiopia,” the representative further added.
Avocado has become a potential for Ethiopian horticulture export and it is now growing from time to time.
In the 2019/20 Ethiopia has secured USD 499 million from horticulture export, which is 146 percent of the target. In the 2020/21 budget year the sector is expected to generate USD 630.
Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian Chefs Association signed a memorandum of understanding
Ethiopian Airlines and Ethiopian Chefs Association signed a memorandum of understanding to promote Ethiopian traditional food to the world. The MoU is expected to enable the two bodies work on the development of traditional food catering service and food tourism. The MoU was signed between Ethiopian Airlines Human Resource Management Vice president Wasihun Asres and Ethiopian Chefs Association president Henok Zerihun. The partnership between the two bodies will last for five years.
The memorandum would also help the two sides to work in cooperation by exchanging expertise, enhancing the airlines catering schools through training, modernizing the catering services, and promoting Ethiopian traditional foods to the rest of the world.
Online shopping portal with its own warehouse enters the Ethiopian market
Detecting the growing trend of the digital market, a local technology firm Addis Path Trading has presented a new online shopping portal called addisber.com.
“addisber.com is the valuable platform for all personal and business needs” said Fitsum Hailu, General Manager of Addis Path Trading. As he said the portal presents a wide range of products to its existing and potential customers. The portal include items such as educational and entertainment, stationary and office supplies, cosmetics, food items, gardening and DIY tools, household items, kitchen appliances, solar energy devices, sport, fitness & health equipment and other fast moving consumer goods that will assist customers to transact from anywhere at any time. 
addisber.com also accepts various payment options. According to Fitsum it gives different alternatives starting from cash on delivery and all the way to accepting different international payment cards. “Customers may pay through online or by using their mobile phone,” said Fitsum. Recently, addisber.com concluded E-commerce merchant agreement with Bank of Abyssinia for the acceptance of Visa cards and Master cards using CyberSource.
Addisber also provides a platform for those living abroad, who want to send items and daily needs to their family in Ethiopia. Besides, addisber gave choices to let all transactions to satisfy their need from the displayed products on its e-commerce website.
In order to incorporate the huge number of mobile users in Ethiopia, the portal uses local payment gateways like Yenepay, Amole, CBE Birr, Hello Cash, M-birr and others. It is also possible for individuals or institutional customers to transfer money to a company account if they choose to go to the bank physically or using their mobile or internet access.
Beside addisber.com facilitates credit sales arrangement on a contract agreement basis for organizations that will have recurrent purchases.
“Most institutional customers are enjoying the price they get and benefited from some discount for their order. Some organizations are using the website for their retail market price analysis and to see the prevailed retail price level of the town,” Fitsum said. a
So far, the company invested more than15 million birr. It creates an employment opportunity for more than 30 employees and it has its own dispatch center and central warehouse located around Ayat area. “Unlike most online shopping service providers, addisber.com hold its own stock and is selling its own products,” Fitsum added.
