• GDP: US$6.7 billion (2003, World Bank).
• Main exports: Coffee, qat, gold, leather products, live animals and oilseeds.
• Main imports: Food and live animals, petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, motor vehicles, cereals and textiles.
• Main trade partners: Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, USA, Germany, China, Japan, Italy and UK.

Ethiopia is one of the world’s least developed countries, with an average annual per capita income of US$91, minimal infrastructure and a serious shortage of skilled labour. The value of Ethiopia's exports per capita is the lowest in the world. Economic development has also been hampered by the effects of the long-running civil war and, more recently, a series of military clashes with both neighbours (notably Eritrea) and internal opposition. The Eritrean war (1998-2000) is estimated to have cost Ethiopia around US$3 billion – half the country’s entire annual economic output. To this litany of ill-fortune can be added severe drought and flooding, which have hampered post-war reconstruction work. The economy is largely dependent on subsistence agriculture, which employs almost 85 per cent of the workforce, and accounts for half the country's GDP. Growth has been seriously affected by the fall in agriculture production due to the droughts in 2002 and 2003. However, sound macroeconomic policies and HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Country) debt relief, coupled with improved rains and harvest in 2004 should result in a rebound in agricultural production and economic growth. Coffee is the main export earner, and the collapse of world coffee prices hit Ethiopia hard. After the end of the civil war, the government set about dismantling the command economy established by the Mengistu regime, not least in an attempt to tackle the country’s huge debt burden. Not surprisingly, Ethiopia relies on substantial quantities of food aid. The Ethiopian Goverment published its poverty reduction strategy in 2002. The manufacturing and service sectors are both small. However, there is one bright prospect in the form of a large natural gas field, which promises substantial future revenues.

Businesspeople should wear suits and ties for business visits. English is widely used for trade purposes but Italian and French are also useful. Nonetheless, knowledge of a few words of Amharic will be appreciated. Some of the more useful are Tena Yistillign – ‘Hello’; Ow – ‘Yes’; Aydellem – ‘No’; and Sintinew – ‘How much is this?’. Normal courtesies should be observed and business cards can be used. Best months for business visits are October to May. Office hours: Mon-Thu 0830-1230, 1330-1730 and Fri 0830-1130, 1330-1730.

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
PO Box 255, Unity Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: (11) 5515 004.
Website: www.combanketh.com

Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 2458, Mexico Square, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: (11) 5515 055.
Website: www.addischamber.com

Ethiopian Trade Promotions Section in the UK
17 Princes Gate, London SW7 1PZ, UK
Tel: (020) 7589 7217.
Website: www.ethioembassy.org.uk

United Nations Conference Centre (Information on Conferences/Conventions)
PO Box 3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Tel: (11) 5514 874 or 5514 945.
Website: www.un.org