Trade regulators have warned exporters to immediately ship oilseeds and cash crops they claim to have discovered stored at warehouses in Addis Abeba and other states.

The authorities are pushing for the export of 235,000tns of cash crops, which they say were found in warehouses belonging to 162 traders and exporters. It is not the first time for them to issue stern warnings. In March this year, they announced discovering 60,000tn of cash crops at warehouses owned by 105 exporters following investigations in Addis Abeba and Adama.

Oilseeds account for two-thirds of the latest batch found in storage. The discovery has pushed the Ministry to amend directives that regulate the trade and export of oilseeds. Signed by Gebremeskel Chala, minister of Trade and Regional Integration (MTRI), the amendments compel exporters to ship their crops within a month.

"The government will confiscate the stock unless they export before the deadline," Mesfin Abebe, director of agricultural product export at the Ministry, told Fortune.

Officials' reasoning for the ultimatum is the perceived losses in foreign currency from a shortage of exports. Oilseeds place high on the list of top forex earning commodities, accounting for nearly 12pc of the 3.6 billion dollars in export revenues last year.

Total export revenues over the three quarters of the year were recorded at 2.95 billion dollars, with agricultural commodities accounting for over two-thirds. The value of coffee export exceeded the one billion dollar mark, almost doubling what the authorities had planned earlier the year. Earning close to a quarter of a billion dollars, the export of oilseeds almost reach the target.

However, the total revenues from exported items were 16pc short of what Gebremeskel and his colleagues at the Trade Ministry had planned. Replacing Melaku Alebel, now minister of Industry, Gebremeskel had previously served as director-general of the Micro & Small Enterprises Development Agency.

Gebremeskel's officers found 7,000qtl of soy bean two weeks ago at a warehouse in Adama town, nearly 100Km southeast of the capital. It is owned by Jemal Seid Adem General Import & Export.

Incorporated 14 years ago, the company exports 50,000tn of agricultural commodities such as oilseeds, pulses and spices each year, mainly to India and Pakistan, earning close to two million dollars. Jemal Seid, the general manager, contends a third of the crops belong to other exporters, which bring their commodities to his company for processing. The warehouse is equipped with cleaners, stoners and gravity separators that process the crops before shipment.

“We've no problem with exporting our stock,” said Jemal. “But it needs time to process agricultural commodities before shipping.”