The Ethiopian Ministry of Finance has reported that it has collected 769.9 million USD from exports during the first quarter of the current fiscal year. This marks a 46.9 million USD increase from the amount brought in last year during the same time.
The increase was reported by State Minister of Finance Eyob Tekalign, while he was giving the Ministry’s three-month report to the Revenue, Budget, and Finance Affairs Standing Committee of Parliament. He also noted that current figures show a continuation of growth trends over the past two years within the export sector.
Ethiopia’s economy grew by 6.1 percent during the previous fiscal year despite the economic challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Eyob, the revitalization of export revenue collection through improvements in general tax revenue collection, is one of the factors that has contributed to rapid growth within the export sector. Excise tax, customs duties, and tax incentives are some of the other factors credited for the increase in tax revenues.
Last year, a decrease in tax incentives from seven percent of the GDP to five percent of the GDP helped save more than 5 billion ETB.
If current trends hold, the Ministry expects Ethiopia’s economy to grow by 8.5 percent during the current fiscal year.