Expo Hopes to Revive Overlooked Agricultural Subsectors


Expo Hopes to Revive Overlooked Agricultural Subsectors

  A three-day agricultural exhibition assembling traders from the poultry, aqua & apiculture and the African Livestock Congress is set to kick off at Millenium Hall on Airport Road. Organised by Prana Events, the exhibition aims to promote commercial production, increase productivity and enhance the use of technology across all the agricultural subsectors by bringing international and local traders together. According to a recent FAO report, population growth, urbanisation and gains in real per capita income have resulted in an increased demand for livestock products. Livestock contributes to 19pc of the country's GDP, and also plays a significant role in foreign exchange earnings, accounting for 19pc. Additionally, the sector provides employment to over 30pc of the agricultural labour force.


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Electricity Bills Get the VAT Jolt

The new Value Added Tax (VAT) has begun implementation on electricity consumption and various service fees affecting customers who use more than 200 kilowatt hours of electricity per month. Based on a directive from the Ministry of Finance, the tax will be applied to the excess amount of electricity consumption above 200 kilowatt hours. The Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) began implementing the VAT on bills starting from November though both prepaid and postpaid customers will have to pay V...


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Gadaa Bank Expands Reach, Faces Lending Constraints

Gadaa Bank closed its first full fiscal year of operations with a net profit of 90.2 million Br. The 18-month-old Bank held its annual general assembly at Millenium Hall on Africa Avenue last week where the board announced that during the year, the Bank opened 15 branches and now has 85 operational branches. “Due to recently enacted policy measures on credit by NBE and unmet resource mobilization during the fiscal year, the Bank was unable to make loan disbursements,” stated Wolde...


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Oromia Bank's Branch Expansion Weighs on Profits

Oromia Bank reported a 47pc decline in net profit to take in 840.9 million Br for the past fiscal year. Interest income grew by 21pc to reach 7.19 billion Br while personnel expense grew by 36pc to hit 3.16 billion Br. The opening of 72 new branches, bringing the total to 575, led to a four percent growth of deposits to 56.4 billion Br. The profits are “unsatisfactory against our ambitious moves,” said Assefa Seme (PhD), board chairperson. “The deviation is primarily attributed to our aggr...