-Creates over 46, 000 jobs

Ministry of Industry stated that the manufacturing industry sector has attracted over 4.68 billion Birr Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the first quarter of the current Ethiopian fiscal year.

Speaking at the event organized to discuss the ongoing import substitution efforts and to review three months performance of the ministry on Wednesday, Industry Minister Melaku Albel said that the manufacturing sector attracted 4.68 billion Birr FDI as well as 8.93 billion Birr capital local investment over the last three months of the current fiscal year.

It also created over 46,000 jobs during the stated period. Large scale industries took a lion's share in creating jobs, the report from the Ministry stated.

Ethiopian Enterprise Development Institute Desk Head Tsegaye Gugsa on his part said that the country saved over 34 million USD foreign exchange earnings by substituting its import by producing imported products locally via small and medium enterprises.

The country generated some 44 million USD from export of manufacturing products over the last three months. It also generated a total of 10.154 million USD foreign exchange earrings (14%) from export of small and medium manufacturing industries products to the foreign markets.

Although the main bottleneck of industries these days is shortage of input supply import substitution gives a special opportunity, he added.

Moreover, special emphasis is attached to address export bottlenecks, a range of awareness creation and other rewarding interventions have been carried out.

It was learnt that export volume has been decreasing from time to time in spite of the immense efforts.

The ministry reached a consensus with State Bureaus and others to institutionalize the 'Let Ethiopia Produce' initiative this year. Most of the bureaus have allocated budget for this initiative thereby facilitating the productivity of industries, the minister said.