Agriculture
Ethiopia’s Date Import Bill Shrinks by Over 90% as Afar Prepares to Host UAE-Backed Festival
Ethiopian Business Review · last week · Read the Full Story on Ethiopian Business Review
AI SUMMARY
Ethiopia's legal date import bill dropped by over 90 percent over five years, reaching 650,000 USD, as the Afar region prepares to host the Second International Date Palm Festival.
- Ethiopia's legal date import bill fell from 9.8 million USD five years ago to 650,000 USD last year, a decrease of over 90 percent.
- The figures were disclosed by the Ministry of Agriculture at a press conference in Addis Ababa on September 17, 2026.
- The Second International Date Palm Festival is scheduled to take place in Semera, Afar Region, from September 20 to 22.
- Ali Mohammed, advisor to the State Minister of Agriculture, stated that the import figures exclude informal date imports by individuals.
- Ethiopia plans a forthcoming 10-year research and development programme to modernise date production methods for domestic consumption and export.
- Ethiopia has the potential to bring more than 500,000 hectares of land under date palm cultivation.
- Afar is Ethiopia's leading date-producing region, followed by the Ethiopian Somali Region, Gambella, Benishangul-Gumuz, parts of Oromia including Borena and Guji, and Dire Dawa.
- Date palm cultivation in Afar has a documented history of more than 250 years.
- The festival is organised jointly with the UAE-based Khalifa International Award for Date Palm and Agricultural Innovation.
- Abdelouahhab Zaid of the Khalifa Award stated that this year's programme will focus on knowledge transfer, grower capacity building, and integrated value chain development.
- Semera offers investment-ready plots, suitable land, and abundant water resources for private investors and international partners.
Related
Ethiopia’s Formal Seed System Falls Short, Supplying Under 20 Percent Of Demand
The Reporter · 11 hours ago
Ethiopia Targets 192,000 Hectares in Nationwide Avocado Expansion Drive
Ethiopia Today · 7 days ago
Keeping The Water Flowing: Ethiopia’s Farmers Turn To Solar
The Reporter · last week
El Niño Threatens Ethiopia Meher Harvest Amid 50 Percent Deficit
Borkena · last week