Addis Ababa, January 30, 2023 (FBC) – The Ministry of Planning and Development’s forecast based on the macroeconomic performance of the past six months indicates that the Ethiopian economy will record a growth rate of 7.5 percent at the end of the current financial year.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Council of Ministers have started performance evaluation and reviewing plans against activities performed over the past six months earlier today
The Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Asefa, who presented a report on the performance of the main macroeconomic and sectors in the last six months of the 2022/203 financial year, recalled that Ethiopia’s economy recorded a growth of 6.4 percent in the 2021/22 fiscal year.
The Minister’s report indicates that at the end of the current fiscal year, Ethiopia’s economic growth will be recorded at 7.5 percent, based on the performances of the macroeconomic in the last six months.
The results recorded in the main macroeconomic indicators in the six months of the fiscal year are evidences of the realization of the growth set to be achieved, she said.
Recording 6.7 percent in the past six months, the agricultural sector is continuously spearheading the growth of the country’s economy, Fitsum added.
The Minister stated that the agricultural sector is also boosting to the growth of Ethiopia’s macroeconomy by buttressing export trade.
It is said that the industrial sector, which had faced severe troubles due to internal challenges and external pressures in the last two years, has recorded better performance this fiscal year.
The report mentioned that the industry sector has resisted various challenges in the last six months and registered a growth rate of 8.2 percent.
Domestic revenue from tax and non-tax sources is also among the highest performers, the Minister’s report mentioned.
Fitsum further indicated that 222 billion birr of domestic income was obtained from tax and non-tax sources in six months, which is a growth of 28.9 percent compared to the same period last year.
Despite the slight downturn in export trade, the sector generated 1.8 billion USD in revenue and the performance is 77 percent compared to the plan, said the Minister.
The 6 month report further elaborates that volatility of prices of products in the global market, increasing illegal trade and contraband, and the challenges in the trade chain and other related constraints are the bottlenecks of the export trade sector.
Midway through the current fiscal year, the country was able to attract foreign direct investment worth 1.9 billion USD, Fitsum said.
The Minister’s report further elucidated that in the first six months of the 2022/23 fiscal year, a total of 1.5 million jobs were created nationwide, according to ENA’s report.