The textile and apparel sector is one of Ethiopia’s key industrial sectors. Foreign currency earnings are given priority as a way of offsetting the current shortage in hard currency. Foreign currency will be released for transactions in the textile and apparel sector in the current fiscal year.

Lower export earnings are attributed to lower exports, shortage of cotton, lack of trained manpower, instability in some parts of the country. A 15-year National Cotton Development Strategy has been prepared to tackle the cotton shortage. Ethiopia is going to harvest a huge amount of cotton for export and to satisfy the demands of the local textile industry.

To effect proper market linkages with reliable buyers, market opportunities are being explored to obtain potential buyers in the global market. Several major foreign companies have invested in the textile and clothing industry in Ethiopia and a number of high profile brand names have started sourcing apparel from the country.

Such interest is believed to stem from rising wages in China, labor unrest and violence in Cambodia, and ineffective compliance with rules and regulations in various countries in South Asia. Also, Ethiopia has been making efforts to create favorable conditions in order to attract investors.