State of Tigray sees the highest food inflation rate amongst all regional governments and city administrations in Ethiopia, reaching as much as 23Pct last fiscal year, according to a new report published by the Central Bank. Annual food inflation rate in the Tigray increased by ten percentage points during last fiscal year from being 13Pct in 2017/18, the report says. This is largely resulted from the rise in prices of basic food items in the Region, including wheat, teff and vegetables.
Ministry of Education decides to incorporate the concept of consumer protection and trade practices into the curriculum. Although not to be given as a separate course, it will be incorporated within main subjects, including mathematics, English, civics and social science, to both primary and secondary school students.
US food and beverage giant PepsiCo bought stakes in Ethiopian crisps firm, Senselet Food Processing. In a statement, Amsterdam-based Veris said it will continue to maintain a minority interest in Senselet and “partner with PepsiCo to further grow the business and develop potato sourcing programs in Ethiopia”. Financial details relating to the transaction have not been disclosed.
Egypt asks Ethiopia to start the filling of its giant dam on Nile within the next 12-21 years, Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy said. The two countries, along with Sudan, had a series of meetings in Cairo, Addis Ababa and Washington DC for the past two months, but none of them bore fruit.
Marathon Motor Engineering Plc, an assembler of Korean-owned Hyundai car, has announced that it will begin assembling electric cars in the coming three months. Preparations are underway to complete the first phase importation of the cars that will be fully assembled by the company. While the vehicles can be recharged with electricity available at home, they don’t require using lubricants and oil, which potentially help the country save foreign currencies spent to import such items. The electric cars are also expected to be affordable and they will not be more than 10Pct higher than the price of a regular vehicle with 1600 CC, the company said. An excise tax of five percent is going to be levied on electric cars, making it cheaper compared to old cars that face as much as 500Pct tax, according to the new draft proclamation that is now being reviewed by the Ministry of Finance.
Ethiopian Insurance Corporation pays ETB95 million claim for Djibouti-Standard Gauge Railway as a compensation for its trains damaged because of a flooding. This is the second-highest claim paid by the insurance giant since its establishment, next to ETB330 million claims it has paid to Ethiopian Airlines a decade ago. The railway’s two locomotive trains and 12 wagons were damaged eight months ago because of an accident caused by a flooding occurred in Fentale Woreda, State of Oromia. The reinsurance coverage for the claim was covered by three international and a local firm, Ethiopia Reinsurance. Munich Reinsurance covered 50Pct of the claim, while the remaining is covered by African Reinsurance, PTA and Ethio-Re. In the past fiscal year, EIC written a premium of ETB3.3 billion from both general and life insurance lines of businesses with a market share of 38Pct.
Nyala Insurance posts a gross profit of ETB184.3 million in the past fiscal year, which is the highest amongst all Ethiopian private insurers. While this is ETB24.7 million higher than the amount registered by the Firm in 2017/18, it netted ETB169.4 million profit during the past fiscal year, which is almost ETB9.4 million higher than what was registered by Awash Insurance in the same period. In the past fiscal year, Nyala written a gross premium of ETB491.6 million, which is ETB277.7 million lower than of 2017/18. Despite such a decline, however, the total income of the Firm showed a 10Pct rise to ETB547 million. Currently, the total assets of Nyala have reached two billion Birr, while the Firm’s paid up capital stands at ETB416.4 million. The company has more than 340 employees.
In spite of a deadly accident involving a Boeing 737 MAX in Ethiopia in March that has killed 157 people, 2019 was the third safest year in the history of commercial aviation in terms of fatalities, according to a report by the Aviation Safety Network published this week. The report showed a total of 20 fatal accidents occurred in the just-ended year, involving commercial aircraft that resulted in 283 fatalities. In 2018, there were 160 accidents, including 13 fatal ones, resulting in 534 deaths, the report said.
The agricultural sector remains underdeveloped and untapped in Ethiopia. Although the sector contributes a third of the country’s GDP and accounts for two-thirds of the workforce, it has not been given the attention it deserves as demonstrated by the minimal finance provided to the sector. Agriculture modernization plans have also remained a myth. Mentioning that it is high-risk, commercial banks are not willing to provide loans to farmers and other actors in the agricultural sector. Even the Development Bank of Ethiopia is no longer interested in financing farmers. Even worse, microfinance institutions, expected to reduce poverty and reach out financially excluded communities, are not in a position to provide much-needed agricultural finance. EBR’s Ashenafi Endale explores.
Being home to many internationally-acclaimed historical sites, Ethiopia has an immense local tourism potential. But the country has never capitalized on the opportunity. Adding to the minimal travelling habit amongst Ethiopians, the sector is still at its infancy. Tour companies also give more attention to international tourists, largely because it garners foreign currency. Investors are not interested in joining the local tourism sector as there is a sentiment that it is a low rate-of-return investment. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism is attempting to create awareness amongst the public, but little has been achieved thus far. EBR’s Kiya Ali explores.
Samson Berhane
Ermias Mulugeta
Ashenafi Endale
Kiya Ali