![](https://addisfortune.news/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/IMAGE-2024-07-26-183455.jpg)
A few years ago, a week did not go by without a new plant for bottled water kicking off production. Those roaring times have come to a screeching halt. Consumers are noticing. A two-litre bottle of mineral water, with a 13 Br price tag at kiosks a few months ago, jumped to 20 Br. The volatility in the consumer market only exposes the dilemma the industry faces. Like most other manufactured goods, the sector suffers from an agonising shortage of foreign currency. While the water in the bottles is sourced locally, the materials used to blow up the plastic packaging need to be imported.
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a derivative of oil and natural gas, is a vital ingredient for bottled water and food, beverage, or consumer product that uses plastic as packaging. The entire plastic manufacturing sector, which has produced 400,000tn in five years and employs around 11,000 workers, is battered and operates at below two-thirds of its capacity. While a foreign currency shortage is a regular headache for these manufacturers, the storm is harsher these days. The most recent disaster to strike the supply chain they depend upon is skyrocketing fuel prices in the international market.
The Ethiopian Plastic & Rubber Manufacturers Association urges federal authorities for a solution. It insists the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) allocates sufficient foreign currency to save the industry from the risk of total collapse. Some others see a golden opportunity to rid consumers of their addiction to highly environmentally polluting materials like plastic bags and discourage it further, as countries like Kenya and Rwanda have done. Stuck in the middle are millions of consumers in a seemingly endless struggle with inflation and the thousands of workers employed by the plastic manufacturing industry (and beyond) whose livelihoods are hanging by a thread.
You can read the full story here
PUBLISHED ON
Apr 02,2022 [ VOL
23 , NO
1144]
Sponsored Contents | Mar 21,2022
Editorial | Sep 23,2023
Fortune News | Sep 10,2021
Featured | Sep 23,2023
Radar | Dec 19,2020
Fortune News | Nov 13,2021
News Analysis | Jan 05,2020
Fortune News | Nov 30,2019
Agenda | Aug 19,2023
Fortune News | May 27,2023
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transportin...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By MUNIR SHEMSU
The cracks in Ethiopia's higher education system were laid bare during a synthesis re...
Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO
Construction authorities have unveiled a price adjustment implementation manual for s...
Jul 13 , 2024
The banking industry is experiencing a transformative period under the oversight of N...
Jul 20 , 2024
In a volatile economic environment, sudden policy reversals leave businesses reeling...
Jul 13 , 2024
Policymakers are walking a tightrope, struggling to generate growth and create millio...
Jul 7 , 2024
The federal budget has crossed a symbolic threshold, approaching the one trillion Bir...
Jun 29 , 2024
In a spirited bid for autonomy, the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE), under its younge...