Tag: Ethiopia

TechnoServe entices Ethiopian coffee farmers to use cost effective, production stimulating technique

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ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia is one of the world’s leading coffee producers, but farm yields are relatively low as coffee growers harvest 40% less per hectare than their counterparts in Uganda and just one-third of what farmers in Colombia produce. According to a report by TechnoServe, the low productivity is attributed to the aging stock of coffee trees in the country, as the plants tend to produce less coffee over time. The non-profit organization has identified that stumping, in which an old single-stem coffee tree is rejuvenated by cutting its stem…

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Ethiopia launches US$231m sugar factory, appoints Ernst & Young to oversee privatization of state-owned sugar plants

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ETHIOPIA – The Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed has inaugurated the long-waited Tana Beles Sugar Factory one, constructed in the Amhara regional state. Delayed for over 8 years, the sugar factor project commenced in 2012 with a planned completion date of around 18 months. However, by end of 2017 only about 60 percent of the project was completed forcing the government to cancel the business agreement with the original contractor, Metal Engineering Corporation (MeTeC). CAMCE, a corporation which belongs to China National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH), took over the…

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Ethiopia’s leading poultry company EthioChicken Group receives US$5m backing from Finnfund

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ETHIOPIA – Ethiopia’s leading producer of day-old-chicks and poultry feed, EthioChicken Group has received US$5m equity investment from OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund I, the first global emerging markets impact fund in Finland. Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and impact investor acts as an anchor investor and advisor to the fund. The financing, which is a follow-on investment from Finnfund’s backing of the company in 2017, is aimed to generate jobs, improve food security and reduce poverty in Ethiopia. “We are very happy to welcome OP Finnfund Global Impact Fund…

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Ethiopia beefs up edible oil production with launch of new US$114m processing plant

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ETHIOPIA – WA Group, Ethiopian multi-sectoral company has set the turbines rolling at its newly built Birr 5 billion (US$114m) edible oil processing plant. The recent investment is a move by the company from importation of edible oil into the country, to refining of crude palm oil imported from abroad, and crushing of locally sourced oil seeds such as niger seed, sesame seed, peanut, soya bean, and haricot bean. WA Oil Factory, located in Amhara Regional State, has the processing capacity of 1.3 million litres of edible oil daily. According…

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IFAD, EU invest US$32m in Ethiopian rural financial institutions to support agriculture sector mitigate pandemic effects

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ETHIOPIA – The Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) is set to receive a EUR13.8 million (US$16.84m) grant from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and an additional EUR12.7 million (US$15.49m) support from the European Union (EU), to improve its liquidity and support to rural financial institutions (RFIs). The financing, according to IFAD, will enable the RFIs to help their MSME clients retain workers in employment, reduce the interest cost of credit, provide support to farmers facing challenges meeting their contract farming arrangements, absorb the penalty on defaulted loan repayments,…

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Ethiopia’s coffee production to continue rising as exports marginally decline

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ETHIOPIA – Africa’s largest producer and consumer of coffee, Ethiopia, has been experiencing a steady rise in production over the past three years, attributed to stable growing conditions. According to USDA in a GAIN report, coffee production in the country is projected to reach 7.62 million bags (457,200 MT) in the Marketing Year (MY) 2021/22. This is 20,000 million bags higher than the current 2020/21 crop estimate, assuming suitable weather and adequate rain will be experienced, indicates the report. The growth in production volume is mainly due to the higher…

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Indian food processor Allana Group halts operations in Ethiopian unit following harsh operating environment

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ETHIOPIA – Frigorifico Boran Foods Plc, the Ethiopian subsidiary of India-based Allana Group, has shut down its US$60m abattoir, after slightly over a year since it commenced operations. The company has attributed the stalemate of operations to rampant insecurity in the area, insufficient livestock supply, high competition from contraband livestock market and high local meat prices. The closure has meant that close to 300 people have lost their jobs, and the plant currently employs only a few dozen security and maintenance workers. Sitting on a 72-hectare piece of land in…

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Leading international consultants PwC, Ernst & Young raise bid to oversee privatization of Ethiopia’s sugar factories

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ETHIOPIA – The privatization process of Ethiopia’s state-owned sugar factories is forging on, with two international consultants, PwC and Ernst & Young submitting their expression of interest to be hired as transaction advisors to oversee the process. According to reports by Addis Fortune, the Public Enterprise Holding & Administration Agency (PEHA) invited consultancy firms to file their expressions of interest in undertaking the job last year. The winning firm, which is expected to be announced in months ahead, will be picked using “Quality- and Cost-Based Selection,” a method that is…

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Italian company Hebron Plc invests US$1.8m in production of coffee capsules in Ethiopia

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ETHIOPIA – Hebron Trading Plc, an Italy headquartered company, has set base in Ethiopia, investing Birr 80 million (US$1.8m) to add value to locally grown coffee, packaging them into capsules used for brewing espressos. The company based in the recently inaugurated Yirgalem Agro-Industrial Park, is currently undertaking machinery and equipment installation and targets to launch in the market by July, reports Addis Fortune. Once completed, Hebron will be the first company to locally produce the value-added coffee product in Ethiopia Ethiopia’s coffee exports accounted for 28.6% of the country’s foreign…

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Ethiopian dairy processor KMPI ventures into niche market, builds US$1.6m camel milk processing plant

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ETHIOPIA – Khelif Milk Processing Industry (KMPI), a dairy processor in Ethiopia has invested Br 70 million (US$1.6m), in the establishment of a camel processing plant. The facility which is set to soon commence operations, has a processing capacity of 16,000 litres a day but the company will begin its production with 10,000 litres. According to reports by Addis Fortune, KMPI financed half of the project with the acquisition of a loan from the state-owned, Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE). The company is currently installing machinery and equipment at the…

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