Economy
Oil Jumps 40% While Coffee Slips, Straining Ethiopia's Finances
Mereja.com · 4 hours ago · Read the Full Story on Mereja.com
AI SUMMARY
A 40 percent surge in global oil prices alongside falling coffee prices has created a costlier import bill for Ethiopia's newly appointed finance minister, Fitsum Assefa.
- Brent crude averaged $116.8 a barrel in September, marking a 40 percent increase from July.
- Arabica coffee fell 8.2 percent over the same period to $7.26 a kilogram in September.
- The figures come as Fitsum Assefa takes over as Minister of Finance, while the government seeks to build foreign-exchange reserves under its market-based exchange-rate system.
- The IMF projects Ethiopia's fuel imports at $4.8 billion in 2026/27, up from $4.1 billion in 2025/26.
- Ethiopia earned a record $3 billion from coffee exports in 2025/26.
- US hard red winter wheat rose to $347 a tonne in September, while maize rose 12.3 percent to $239.6 a tonne.
- DAP fertilizer reached $800.6 a tonne in September, about 17 percent above its 2025 average.
- The Ethiopian Statistics Service reported annual inflation of 14.1 percent in August.
- Gold averaged $4,319 an ounce in September, with Ethiopia earning $5.65 billion from gold exports in 2025/26.
- Regional conflicts in the Middle East and Yemen threaten shipping routes near Djibouti, through which Ethiopia moves most of its trade.
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