Without higher growth in the domestic food industry, the trade surplus will soon fade away even with further growing exports of raw products. The government rightly considers privatization of sugar factories a priority to improve sugar sector performance and prepared a new sugar law to attract international investors. Access to finance constraints is particularly evident in the agriculture sector that is the backbone of the Ethiopian economy. Developing the business enabling environment around post-harvest and inventory financing models as private sector processing increases creates interesting opportunities for commercial banks. However, as the finance gap in agriculture and the food industry is large it will be challenging for domestic banks to offer sufficient credit.

Source: Ethiopian News February 24, 2021 22:18 UTC