The country experienced the largest rise in exports in the period under review, according to USAID East Africa Trade and Investment Hub.
Ethiopia’s export under AGOA (African Growth and Opportunity Act) has increased by 62 percent between October 2017 and September 2018.
“If this growth continues, Ethiopia may soon become the second or third largest exporter under AGOA in East Africa,” the Hub said.
East African countries supported by the USAID-Hub reached almost one billion dollars in exports to the U.S. under AGOA in the period under review.
This is a 17 percent increase over figures from the previous year, and a 42 percent rise since the USAID Hub began.
Kenya remained the largest exporter in eastern Africa with a total of 454 million dollars.
According to the Hub, apparel continues to control East African exports across countries, accounting for 84.4 percent of all AGOA exports during the reported period.
East African countries have made continuous efforts to take advantage of their AGOA eligibility in recent years.
Rwanda, Uganda, Madagascar, Tanzania and Kenya have developed national AGOA strategies that outline targeted support for critical sectors and product categories to boost the countries utilization of its duty-free benefits, whereas Ethiopia is in the process of updating its national strategy.
Through these attempt supported by the USAID Hub, East African countries have set record-high totals of AGOA exports.
To date, USAID Hub trade and investment support has contributed to 4.07 billion dollars in AGOA exports from the region, with 491.5 million dollars from USAID Hub-supported firms.
The USAID Hub increased trade and investment with and within East Africa by involving regional integration, raising competitiveness of selected agricultural value chains, promoting two-way trade with the U.S. and facilitating investment and technology to gain trade growth.
