ADDIS ABABA, July 12 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has saved over 2.3 billion U.S. dollars by substituting imported products with locally produced commodities in just less-than five years period, according to the Ethiopian Public Procurement and Property Disposal Service (PPPDS).
The statement by Yigezu Daba, General Director of PPPDS, on Wednesday indicated that the east African country has saved over 2.3 billion U.S. dollars as the country substituted products such as vehicles and spare parts, steel products, and building elevators which used to be imported from abroad.
As part of the Ethiopian government's initiative to strengthen local producers' share in the country's economy, Ethiopia through its five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) has embarked on import substitution measures as a major alternative to increase domestic production and reduce foreign currency outflow.
According to Daba, the target was realized by enabling domestic producers and offering them with opportunities to operate in various activities.
The Ethiopian Public Procurement and Property Disposal Service had been importing various products due to limited access to locally produced products as compared with imported products, either in quality of quantity.
Praising Ethiopia's recent achievements in producing commodities that have started to effectively substitute products that have been imported from abroad, Daba said Ethiopia's import substitution initiative is warmly welcomed as the east African country is facing foreign currency shortage.
Ethiopia, through its second five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP-II), aspires to augment its domestic products of various commodities that include cement, sugar, textile, and vehicles and heavy duty trucks that are produced by meeting international standards and quality so as to reduce the size of imported goods.
Despite efforts, however, the Ethiopian government has acknowledged the difficulty in substituting imported commodities as locally produced commodities are expected to meet the international standards and quality to avoid rejection both at the local and international markets. Enditem
