Source: Ethiopia mulls 1 bln USD revenue from mining exports – Xinhua | English.news.cn
ADDIS ABABA, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) — Ethiopia plans to earn 1 billion U.S. dollars in revenue of mining exports during the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2019/20, which started on July 8, an Ethiopian official said on Tuesday.
Speaking to Xinhua, Market Development Linkage and Forecast Directorate at Ethiopia Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) Betru Haile said the mass sensitization campaign which will include all relevant stakeholders aims to combat contraband mining activities that have partly blamed for Ethiopia achieving low mining revenues in 2018/19.
Ethiopia has already established several gold trading centers as it seeks to boost its income from the mining sector and at the same time reduce contraband mining trade.
Ethiopia earned 49 million U.S. dollars in mining exports in 2018/19, the lowest mining revenue for the East African country in years.
“We expect mining firms engaged in mining exploration to enter into production in 2019/20, as well as the resumption of mining activities by those firms that have stopped mineral production due to the country’s foreign currency shortage and unrest in some traditional mining areas,” said Betru.
Gaps in legal frameworks and lack of integration among stakeholders are also a major challenge that are often said to have a negative impact on Ethiopia’s mining sector performance.