APA-Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) Ethiopia anticipates to grow by 7.5 percent this concluding Ethiopian fiscal year which will end Friday, July 7, 2023, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has said.
‘Ethiopia is one of the fastest economies in the world and its economy is expected to grow by 7.5 percent this year,” Ahmed told the law makers, noting that the projection is higher than the 6.1 percent the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had previously forecast.
Responding to questions raised by the House of People’s Representatives on Thursday, the premier said the economic growth comes against the backdrop of macroeconomic challenges that have plagued the country, including inflation, as well as the war in different parts of the country.
“Ethiopia is one of the few countries that are registering rapid economic growth in the world,” said the Prime Minister, noting that the first home-grown economic reform that was introduced by the government has played a vital role to such economic performance.
Ahmed said the agriculture sector, which accounts 33 percent of the economy, has greatly contributed to the economic good economic performance and the country is making tremendous progress in poultry, fruit surplus production and other agricultural products.
Ahmed said the government has managed to reduce inflation down to 30 percent during the just ending Ethiopian fiscal year from 37 percent last year. He said the nation expects as much as 513 million quintals of agricultural produce next year.
According to the Prime Minister, Ethiopia has also managed to reduce its debt to GDP ratio to 38 percent noting that the east African country has been paying its external debt without any break.
He said the gap between import and export has narrowed during the period while the country has seen a 14 percent increase in service export; 4.8 percent increase in remittance and 10.5 percent increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
MG/as/APA