India, which imports 30 percent of Ethiopia’s pulse products may halt imports because Ethiopia has not fumigated the pulses.
India gave six months for Ethiopia to fumigate its pulses, a deadline which expired yesterday Saturday June 30, and India has stated they will not import any more pulse products until the matter is dealt with.
Ethiopia stands to lose up to USD 80 million a year if India stops importing pulses. Fumigation is a method of pest control that completely fills an area with gaseous pesticides to suffocate or poison the pests. It is used to control pests in soil, grain, and produce, and is also used during processing of goods to be imported or exported to prevent transfer of exotic organisms.
India said it doesn’t want to spend additional money on chemicals and human labor to fumigate the pulses. White and red beans, chick peas, horn beans, green mung beans and soya beans are the major pulse products India imports from Ethiopia.
The Ministry of Trade who had a meeting with pulse and oilseeds exporters last Thursday at Capital Hotel warned the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to start the fumigation process very soon.
In the last eleven months Ethiopia exported 402,000 tons of pulses and earned USD 402 million, they had plans to export 568,704 tons and earn USD 423 million.
India imported about 6 million tons of pulses last year from different countries.
In other news 8,730 tons of sesame were exported illegally over the last eleven years which caused the country to lose over two billion birr. The Ministry of Trade also announced that it has received over 63,403 tons of sesame in stores where the exporters, suppliers and producers had horded the product to get a better price in the future. It stated also that some exporters sold the product below the international market price to get dollars quickly.
Melaku Alebel, Minister of Trade said exporters should work harder to bring more quality products to the market.
“The reason we are failing to fill the gap of hard currency demand is our weak performance in export and if we do not export more we cannot get dollars which ultimately causes trouble for out investments.’’
However, exporters said the government should make it easier to get loans.
India may stop importing Ethiopia’s pulse product
Ethiopian Steel’s cutting edge product
Ethiopian Steel plc, one of the old established foreign direct investments (FDI) since the free economy was endorsed, launched the latest steel roofing sheet product which is coated with aluminum zinc, to the Ethiopian market.
The company which is known for making roofing sheet under the brand name Anbessa has been engaged in the steel manufacturing industry for the last 23 years.
At the launching event held on June 21 at Getfam Hotel it introduced the roofing sheet called Dumuzas.
Pankaj Gupta, Ethiopian Steel Business Head, said that the product is the latest technology in the global steel roofing market.
“So far we understand that we are the pioneer and the only one producing this kind of roofing sheet that is coated with aluminum zinc,” he told Capital.
According the explanation at the launching event, Dumuzas is better in many ways when compared with the traditional galvanized roofing sheet. According to experts at Ethiopian Steel, which is a company under Safal Group, the product has a long life span which is superior in corrosion resistance, heat reflectivity and head resistance over galvanized sheet, which makes the product preferable for weather like Ethiopia.
The company that has four manufacturing industries in Addis Ababa, Gonder, Hawassa and Mekele, also features several showrooms throughout the country.
Ethiopian Steel reported that their factories have a production capacity of over 30,000 metric tons per annum.
Besides roofing sheet the company also produces and delivers to site offices, warehouses, and guard houses. It has also been engaged in several public projects including housing schemes refugee camp development and other governmental and nongovernmental endeavors.
The mother company of Ethiopian Steel, Safal Group which has operated for over six decades is based in Mauritius and Nairobi and invests in 12 African countries, including Ethiopia.
Anti-terrorism Proclamation could be rescinded
Federal Attorney-General Birhanu Tsegaye, deflected questions about possibly removing the Anti-Terrorism Law from the books during a press conference held at his office on Friday.
According to an office publication removing the nation’s most controversial proclamation, placing a more watered down version in the regular Criminal Code and amending the law are all under consideration. During an event publicizing the new legal advisory council, the Attorney General made it clear that the legal and institutional frameworks of the nation will be subject to the recently announced justice reform by the Prime minister.
The status of the current legal system has caused dissatisfaction with many, because they say it gives the nation a bad image and conflicts with the constitution, these were listed by Birhanu as factors leading to reformation of the justice system. “Laws should no more be the weapon of the rulers,” said the Attorney General. “The Anti-Terrorism Law, Nongovernmental Organizations Establishment Law and Media Law are among the priorities”.
The newly organized team, which consists of 13 legal professionals, will recommend the best legal solutions to the government, for the next three years.
Prof. Tilahun Teshome, the renowned professor of laws, and Meaza Ashenafi, a prominent women rights activist and lawyer, were appointed members of the council. In addition, Liqu Worqu, a former government legal research post holder and founder of the Abyssinian Law website is among the younger members of the council.
The council’s role is extended to policy issues and the law school’s curriculum content improvement according to Birhanu.
“The recursion of the members was made considering the educational background, experience, and their public acceptance,” Birhanu said. “They will consult the government without payment but the government will cover their expenses”.
The council’s independence and implementation of its recommendations were said to be complete. The participation of the council is said not to be limited to the Office of the Attorney general but the nation’s entire legal system. In its coming meeting, the council is expected to choose its chairperson.
Chinese, Ethiopian construction companies hold forum
Chinese construction companies and political leaders arrived in Addis Ababa this week to enhance their cooperation with private Ethiopian construction companies.
The team, led by Hunan province governor Xu-dazhe, signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoU)s with businesses from Ethiopia.
During a conference, held at Hilton Addis last week, giant multinational construction companies from the province shared their experience with their Ethiopian counterparts and discussed challenges the industry is facing.
Hunan province which is 1300 km from Beijing had a GDP of 330 billion USD in 2017 has become the world’s major destination of prefabricated construction materials. The province has become the base of more than 1,000 construction companies which have a presence overseas according to governor, Xu-dazhe.
“Ethiopia appreciates any help to achieve its economic plans,” said Engineer Aisha Mohammed, Minister of Construction during her opening remarks.
She also added that the China’s experience will help the Ethiopian construction sector overcome its quality safety, on-time delivery, and management problems.
The minister said the Ethiopian construction industry which has been consuming 50% of the nation’s capital budget for the last decade is expected to become fifth globally.
Among the Hunan based delegates makers of construction machines and vehicle producers also showed an interest in participating in industry and held talks with Ethiopian businesspeople.
Chinese construction companies, construction machine makers, vehicle producers and real estate companies all are expected to stay in Ethiopia for a few more days and explore opportunities.
The governor also invited the attendants of the summit for the fourth edition of the Investing in Africa forum which is going to be held after a year, in June.
The Ministry of Construction arranged this summit in collaboration with Hunan Province after its visit a few months ago. It was sponsored by Flintstone Homes.
Among the opportunities presented to the delegates are the Public-Private Partnership Projects, and mining areas. Tax holidays, the availability of a large trainable labor force and infrastructure expansion plans have were highlighted as opportunities.
Members of the delegation said, in addition to the large population and natural resources, Ethiopia is a major strategic country for Chinese investors to reach the region and the continent.
