Local importers have begun receiving waivers from the Ethiopian Shipping & Logistics Services Enterprise (ESLSE), allowing them to use other shipping companies to transport their goods from ports in China.

After months of uncertainty due to the global shortage of shipping containers, the move enables importers to bring their goods in from the Far East nation, the source of a fourth of Ethiopia's imports.

Strict COVID-19 lockdowns in the global west and south meant that containers were not offloaded and loaded at the usual pace, creating disruptive shortages. Because of a directive making the Enterprise the only option for importers, they have had no choice but to wait months for their goods to be picked up while enduring staggering surges in transportation costs, a state of affairs that is creating fears of a critical shortage of imported goods in the months ahead.

The Enterprise only permitted importers to use other shipping companies in the rare case that their goods were moving from ports where its ships do not dock or where it has no agents present. Though it targeted to transport 170,000 containers last year, the Enterprise only managed to move 150,000, with more than 13,000 containers currently stranded in Chinese ports.

“This waiver is for imports from the ports of China, where there are container shortages at large,” confirmed Ashebir Nota, communications director at the Enterprise.

The Enterprise recently introduced new cargo tariffs four times higher than its rates last year. Other shipping lines charge even higher prices, presenting another challenge to importers.

For Yitawok Ewunetu, a logistics expert with a decade of experience, the waiver solution is of great benefit in terms of saving time, but not when considering costs.

“The price of products would still be high as importers will have to pay for the costly transportation,” says Yitawok.