Ethiopia AGOA+ Program Staff Featured for Support to Manufacturing Industry
IESC is the prime implementer of the Volunteers for Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA)’s AGOA+ Program in Ethiopia, which promotes Ethiopian exports under the African Growth and Opportunities Act (AGOA). IESC promotes business linkages with US companies, spearheads investment initiatives through Ethiopian Diaspora in the United States, and provides targeted technical assistance to local firms, with a specific focus on the textile and garment sector. The following article highlights the efforts of this IESC-implemented program to support the growth of the textile and garment manufacturing industries in Ethiopia.
USAID/VEGA Urges Manufacturing Industries to Work in Harmony
By Beletu Bulbula
USAID/VEGA – Ethiopia said that coordinated efforts of public and private textile and garment manufacturing industries is essential to enable the nation achieve its five year national plan.
Addressing a half day consultative workshop between representatives of Ethiopia manufacturing companies and senior American trade experts here yesterday Chief of Party for USAID/VEGA – Ethiopia Addis Alemayehu said that the demand for the country’s products in the global market is highly increasing.
Similarly, revenues that Ethiopia is securing from the sector due to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is increasing from time to time, Addis added.
According to Addis the revenues that the nation obtains only from the textile sector has increased from about to million USD to 19 million USD in 2001/2 and 2008 because of AGOA. The country has also set to supply textile products worth of 25 million USD to the American Market in 2011, he added.
Addis further indicated that though currently Ethiopian products are becoming preferable on the global market for their better quality and fair price, lack of coordination among manufacturers, low productivity as well as lack of established local or global marketing and promotional systems are hindering the sector from easily penetrating into the global market.
The major objective of the workshop is also to discussion on marketing, production and partnership issues of the sector so as to meet the targeted plan effectively, Addis said.
Mr. JC Mazingue USAID/COMPETE Project Senior Apparel Trade Advisor on his part said currently there is about 200 billion USD market opportunity in America out of which Ethiopia is trying to achieve 0.5 per cent.
Mr. Mazingue said that Ethiopia’s plan set to generate one billion USD foreign currency from the textile sector by the end of 2015 is achievable.
According to Mr. Mazingue, good price, good quality of products that are supplemented by sufficient supply and promotional activities would be more competitive everywhere in the world.
To this end, the permanent presence of a promotional office in the New York fashion district would be among the proposed strategies for the future AGOA competitiveness for Ethiopia, he added.
Source: The Ethiopian Herald