Ethiopia has earned 513.9 million from the export of gold in the last eleven months of the current Ethiopian fiscal year which will expire on July 8, 2022.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Minister of Mines Takele Uma said the $513.9 million revenue was obtained from gold exports made through the National Bank of Ethiopia in the past 11 months.
The revenue figure makes gold the second top foreign exchange generating commodity, next to coffee export. Ethiopia obtained nearly $1.2 billion in coffee exports in the same period.
The ministry is working with the National Bank of Ethiopia to further boost the gold deposits and export trade.
“The government has created an enabling environment for both domestic and foreign companies to invest in the country,” said Takele, apart from enacting a new mining policy and revising the proclamation.
He said many mining companies are currently working in good faith to comply with the law to benefit themselves and Ethiopia from its mineral resources. Authorities are also getting strict on licensed companies that are failing to comply with the terms of their contract and country’s law.
The ministry of mines recently revoked the licenses of 972 companies engaged in exploration, extraction, and export activities for failing to comply with the terms of their contracts and others, its top officials said.
MG/abj/APA