rice

In 2021, Ethiopia imported $123M in Rice, becoming the 60th largest

importer of Rice in the world. At the same year, Rice was the 16th most
imported product in Ethiopia. Ethiopia imports Rice primarily
from: India ($109M), Pakistan ($4.7M), South Korea ($4.67M), United
States ($1.7M), and Germany ($1.05M).

Whaet

Ethiopia is the top country by wheat imports among 1 countries. As of 2021, wheat
imports in Ethiopia was 938,626 thousand US dollars that accounts for 100.00% of total
wheat imports. The top 1 countries (others are ) account for 100.00% of it. The total
wheat imports was estimated at 938,626 thousand US dollars in 2021.

In 2021, Ethiopia imported $927M in Wheat, becoming the 22nd largest

importer of Wheat in the world. At the same year, Wheat was the 1st most
imported product in Ethiopia. Ethiopia imports Wheat primarily
from: Ukraine ($440M), United
States ($261M), Russia ($76.9M), Romania ($75.4M),
and Bulgaria ($28.5M).

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Ethiopia grain imports are almost exclusively limited to wheat. Nearly all wheat imports, except wheat
donated for food and development aid, is done through the Public Procurement and Property Disposal
Service (PPPDS) under Ministry of Finance and includes officials from Ministry of Trade and the Ethiopian
Trading and Business Corporation. At this time the GOE is looking to partially liberalize the wheat import
market so local millers are beginning to explore opportunities to import wheat directly. For this to
happen, the government will need to guarantee enough foreign currency exchange for wheat purchase.
Millers could source wheat from the ETBC (subsidized imported wheat) or from the domestic market,
therefore there is a vast disparity in the price of wheat flour. The unsubsidized price is obviously higher
and is reported to have increased by about 35 percent over the past three years. Flour supplied to
bakeries at the subsidized price has only increased by about 4 percent during the same time. The
difference between these flour prices shows the impact of government subsidies on imported wheat.
Over the past three years (2016/17-2019/20), Ethiopia imported on average 1.2 million metric tons of
wheat commercially (excluding the informal import of significant wheat product) which accounted about
30 percent of the domestic consumption. The wheat imported by the government is to stabilize food
prices.
Table: 4 Wheat and wheat product imports by country of origin 2018/19 (1000 MT) Country of Origin
Quantity (MT) Value (USD) Ukraine 304,786 76,215,481 United States ® 286,780 108,182,790 Russia
278,368 79,171,540 Romania 131,027 42,179,115 Bulgaria 91,543 27,675 Turkey 41,009 21,323,819
Egypt 35,986 10,474,089 Serbia 7,710 2,575,622 China 7,434 6,209,410 Other (including the informal
import estimate) 315,357 91,453,530 Total 1,500,000 437,813,071

Table: 4 Wheat and wheat product imports by country of origin 2018/19

(1000 MT)

Country of Origin Quantity (MT) Value (USD)

Ukraine 304,786 76,215,481

United States ® 286,780 108,182,790

Russia 278,368 79,171,540

Romania 131,027 42,179,115

Bulgaria 91,543 27,675

Turkey 41,009 21,323,819

Egypt 35,986 10,474,089

Serbia 7,710 2,575,622

China 7,434 6,209,410

Other (including the informal import estimate) 315,357 91,453,530

Total 1,500,000 437,813,071

Edible oil
Edible oil for consumption in Ethiopia is mainly imported from different countries. In calendar year (CY)
15, Ethiopia imported 479,000 metric tons of cooking oil, valued at nearly $474 million dollars. Of this
imported oil, more than 90 percent by volume was palm oil, most of which comes from Indonesia and
Malaysia. The remainder of imported oil is made up of sunflower, soybean and olive oils. See tables 1
and 1A for breakdown of oil imports volume and value.

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Actual total edible oil consumption for 2020/21 is estimated by the US Foreign Agricultural
Service (USFAS) at 630,000 tons or 700 million liters, of which 90Pct is imported. Most of the
consumption is of palm oil, followed by sunflower and locally produced niger seed oil. USFAS
has also studied that local factories are only covering 10Pct of demand. MoTI’s latest edible oil
studies are contradictory in this regard, stating the share of local manufactures has jumped from
12Pct last year to 40Pct currently.
With MoTI’s total forecasted demand for the current 2021/22 fiscal year at 906.5 million liters,
USD993 million would be required if imports were to cover the entire requirement. Ethiopia
spent USD749 million to import edible oil in 2020. Malaysia and Indonesia constitute 71Pct of
Ethiopia’s total palm oil imports. According to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, one ton of the
type is currently selling at USD1,550, the highest in the decade.

Table 1 Edible Oil Import Volume (MT)

Imports 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Palm Oil 212,686 228,209 292,797 139,899 373,763 442,536

Sunflower Oil 1,135 2,228 1,453 2,198 2,450 9,704

Soy Oil 713 6,755 654 2,001 656 6,746

Vegetable Fats & Oils 11,912 11,263 17,041 13,487 11,316 16,954

Olive Oil 86 166 174 253 308 758

Sesame Oil 5 390 14 5 16 13

Other Edible Oils 780 3,548 85 194 577 1,877

Total 227,316 252,559 312,217 158,038 389,086 478,588

Source: ERCA
 Table 1A: Edible Oil Import Value (‘000 USD)

Imports 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Palm Oil 216,763 322,786 382,278 145,832 403,198 419,636

Sunflower Oil 1,458 3,909 2,438 4,055 4,309 15,692

Soy Oil 1,009 11,956 1,203 3,109 1,083 8,787

Vegetable Fats & Oils 18,099 19,564 28,453 16,935 18,355 25,220

Olive Oil 209 529 510 660 1,066 1,840

Sesame Oil 7 430 30 26 47 71

Other Edible Oils 1,013 5,779 196 312 973 2,582

Total 238,557 364,952 415,109 170,929 429,031 473,806

Source: ERCA

Moving back to local types of edible oils and oilseeds and reducing the import burden for
edible oils will require engagement with edible oil processing facilities and importers to
better understand the context, local capacity, challenges, and opportunities for growth.