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April 9 , 2022 . By HAWI DADHI

Flower Exporters Grumble Over Changing Rules, Revised Floor Prices

Ethiopia's central bank has set a threshold price for the exports of fresh-cut flowers to the dismay of the companies and their managers, who warn that higher floor prices could imperil competitiveness in the global market. These companies have already been up in arms about the central bank's revisi...

January 1 , 2022 . By HAWI DADHI

Ethiopia's Dilemma in Europe Trade Deal

Efforts to enrol in an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), a multilateral trade link with the European Union (EU) negotiated with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, await government decisions. But trade negotiators and the private sector remain concerned about opening up Ethiopia's market to Europe too soon. Led by Mamo Mehiretu, chief trade negotiator and policy advisor to the Prime Minister, Ethiopia will have to offer tariff reductions applicable over a defined period as part of an agreement. The agreement entails a reciprocal but asymmetrical tariff reduction where the EU pr...


December 11 , 2021 . By SAMUEL BOGALE

Fuel Subsidy Scale Back Drives Record-High Prices at Pumping Stations

Federal authorities increased prices on various fuel products last week, making a record-high jump never seen before in pumping stations. As the news made its rounds that benzene and diesel would see price increases, drivers in Addis Abeba were seen rushing to gas stations on the evening of December 8, 2021. It was a last-ditch attempt to fill their tanks before retail prices increased the following morning. Several fuel stations had already closed by the time the announcement was made, inclined to sell off their stock the next day at the significantly higher prices of 31.74 Br a litre for...


August 7 , 2021 . By SAMSON BERHANE

How Much Monthly Income Provides Decent Living?

The weather was chilly, but this did little to dampen the vibrant Sunday evening at restaurants in the Bole neighbourhood. On a cold night a few weeks ago, Mikyas Tsegaye was warm and well-fed at Food Zone Restaurant. He seemed unbothered with the pricey dish of sautéed beef (shekla tibs) he had just finished, laying back and enjoying his beer. A wholesaler in Merkato, the 30-year old Mikyas can afford to lead a decent living, owing to his success in the clothing market. He inherited a family business with a daily turnover of around 70,000 Br eight years ago after cutting short his education...

News analysis

Fed Seals Costly Fertiliser Deal, Demand Remains Unmet

An Abu Dhabi-based firm has agreed to supply half a million tonnes of urea to Ethiopia following months of negotiations between federal authorities and executives of FertiGlobe. It was a delicate p...

Supplementary Budget Raises Worries Over Deficit Financing

Members of parliament have voted in favour of a record-high supplementary budget bill Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's (PhD) administration motioned last month. The bill met objections from nine of the 30...

January 15 , 2022

Central Bank 'Only Option' Leaves Exporters Fuming

As the central bank slashes foreign currency retention rates by half to 20pc, exporters are decrying the move as detrimental to their businesses and warn a fall in foreign exchange revenues is inevita...

December 4 , 2021

No Law Undermines Farmland Certification Benefits, Access to Finance

A registration for over 72,000 parcels of farmland in the Southern Regional State was completed recently, paving the way for the second-level land certification programme that first appeared in the re...

November 20 , 2021

Mobile Money or Card Payment? The Jury's Still Out

Nassir Alemayehu runs a retail shop in Merkato. He was one of the first clients to enrol three months ago as a merchant on Telebirr. A mobile payment platform launched earlier this year by the state-o...

October 30 , 2021

EthSwitch Launches Overdue Bank Transfer Feature, Users Grapple with Flaws

A national switch operator has launched a long-overdue connectivity between banks that allows for the instant transfer of funds. A microfinance institution and nine banks have already been integrated...

September 26 , 2021

Fintech Firms, Banks Buckle Up to Fight Growing Parallel Forex Market

The increase in the informal flow of foreign currency could be unyielding. However, banks and fintech firms rush to avail digital remittance platforms, positioning themselves to boost inflow by signif...

September 10 , 2021

Despite Consumers Anxiety, Holiday Markets Remain Buoyant

In the morning around 11am of Wednesday last week, half a dozen customers, mostly women, are lined up in the butter section of Shola Market. Shola is one of the largest trade hubs in Addis Abeba, host...

August 28 , 2021

In War Time, State Manoeuvres to Command the Market

Two days after sanctioning traders from making price changes, hoping to ward off inflationary pressure, the Addis Abeba City Administration officials have banned landlords in the capital from increasi...

August 21 , 2021

Inadequate Risk Management Continues to Claim Lives

Today, August 22, was supposed to be a day of celebration for a group of students under the Mekane Eyesus Seminary School, located just off Guinea Bissau Street in the Mekanisa neighbourhood of Nifas...

July 3 , 2021

In Banking, Technology Paces Ahead of Policy, Laws

Commercial banks are caught in a dilemma as they cannot issue payment cards customers with forex accounts can use to make international retail payments due to the absence of laws governing the transac...

June 19 , 2021

Anxiety, Pallidness Consume Voters Ahead of Polls

In the runup to the sixth national elections, the voting date has seen its fair share of controversies. From the year-long debacle in multiple postponements to the incapability to conduct polls in all...

January 5 , 2020

RULE OF LAW: WHERE A STATE CAN NEVER FAIL (LESSON X)

A developing country like Ethiopia inevitably has many challenges. But nothing poses the greatest risk like the breakdown of order and the rule of law. And not by the law. The monopoly on legitimate v...

January 5 , 2020

TAXES: A SMALL PIE CAN ONLY GIVE SO MUCH (LESSON IX)

Ethiopia’s policymakers, international financial institutions and the public agree that it is far better to mobilise one's resources than borrow money from international creditors and development pa...

January 5 , 2020

EDUCATION POLICY: SO MANY DEGREES, SO LITTLE SKILLED (LESSON VIII)

The crucial role education plays in supporting a competitive economy was not lost on policymakers. With a strong emphasis on the natural sciences, efforts were made to improve primary and secondary-le...

January 5 , 2020

DEVALUATION OF BIRR: THE BITTER PILL THAT NEVER WORKED (LESSON VII)

The Birr was devalued against a basket of major currencies twice over the last almost three decades. The first one was in 1992, when a new government under the late Meles Zenawi devalued the Birr from...


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Giving Peace a Chance. Long Overdue.

After nearly two years since the civil war broke out in northern Ethiopia, adversaries in...

Editorial | July 2 , 2022

Wedding Industry Rejoices Business Rebound

Matrimony is never a dull affair in Ethiopia. Contesting "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", it is...

Featured | May 28 , 2022 . By REDIET KASSAHUN

Is the Coffee Bonanza Here to Stay?

On a rainy afternoon last week, a coffee processing facility in the capital's Akaki-Qality...

Agenda | July 2 , 2022 . By RUTH TAYE

COFFEE: TOUR DE FORCE

In an economy that has slowed, where consumers are hammered by inflation, and the private...

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