Ethiopia’s economy is forecast to grow by 6 % during this fiscal year amid the coronavirus infection, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said.
The premier told the MPs during an extraordinary session on Monday that the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has brought about opportunities for Ethiopia to secure better earnings from export sector registering16 percent growth rate.
According to the premier, the nation’s 9% projected economic growth for this fiscal year which will end on July 7, 2020 will decline to 6% because of the pandemic.
Abiy said, Ethiopia, like any other nations, will have its share from the humanitarian and economic impacts of the virus.
The Prime Minister quoted IMF report as saying that global trade volume growth declined by 27% and 170 countries will register negative economic growth this fiscal year due to the pandemic.
About 350 million people across the world have lost their jobs, tourism declined by 80% and airlines forced to cut 90 % of their international flights because of the pandemic, he said.
According to the Prime Minister, Ethiopia will have its own share from all these impacts, including on its remittance and economic growth.
Despite the pandemic, the country’s coffee export grew by 16% to $667 million and meat exports by 21% to $41 million during the past 10 months, he indicated.
Moreover, Ethiopian commercial banks managed to collect $3.6 billion loan repayments, distributed $6.5 billion loan and deposited $2.5 billion, he said.
Furthermore, 800 kilograms of gold were supplied to the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) during the past 10 months, according to the Prime Minister.
MG/abj/APA