Addis Ababa: Minister of Planning and Development, Fitsum Assefa, announced that Ethiopia aims to achieve an 8.3 percent economic growth in the 2017 Ethiopian fiscal year.
The government has recently evaluated the final 100-day performance of the 2016 fiscal year and plans for 2017.
The Minister told ENA that based on the main macroeconomic sector performances over the past 10 months, indicators suggest a 7.9 percent economic growth for the current fiscal year.
She noted that the execution in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and other sectors is enabling the realization of the set economic growth targets.
In agriculture, the harvest during the main season exceeded last year’s by 100 million quintals.
The summer irrigation wheat initiative and ‘Bounty of the Basket’ (Ye Lemat Tirufat), a national development program initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, are also showing significant results.
For instance, out of the planned 117 million quintals from summer irrigation wheat alone, 106 million quintals
were harvested until the end of May.
In the manufacturing sector, productivity has been increasing following the implementation of ‘MadeInEthiopia’ movement, which provides input and financial support to factories to operate at full capacity.
The mining sector has seen improvements in gold and cement production, with cement output surpassing last year’s by over 1 million tons.
To stabilize the cost of living, efforts to increase domestic production and productivity, duty-free imports of essential goods, and expansion of market infrastructure have helped reduce overall inflation to 23 percent.
The service sector is also showing gradual improvement.
For the 2017 fiscal year, the national economy is projected to grow by 8.3 percent. This target considers current capacity and future potential, with extensive preparations made from policy reforms to budgeting.
To achieve this goal, coordinated efforts will be strengthened in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, tourism, and digital sectors.
The plan also foc
uses on economic and social infrastructure development to reduce poverty significantly.
In the coming fiscal year, efforts to stabilize inflation will continue through operational improvements, increasing production and productivity, and modernizing market infrastructure.
Source: Ethiopian News Agency