ADDIS ABABA - Manufactured at the Hawassa Industrial Park, Ethiopian garment and textile products are widely penetrating American, Asian and European markets, Industry Parks Development Corporation (IPDC) said.

IPDC Marketing, Promotion and Investment Sector Deputy Director General Zemen Junadin told the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) that the Hawassa Industrial Park is immensely contributing in increasing earnings, job creation and skill development thereby expediting economic transformation.

It has been manufacturing textile and garment products that have been widely accessing American and European markets. Accordingly, the park has generated over 44 million USD foreign exchange earnings while creating over 24, 000 permanent jobs in the just ended Ethiopian fiscal year, the Deputy Director General remarked.

The park has been cultivating the skills of new leaders, Zemen said, adding that Ethiopian employees who joined the park have been overtaking managerial positions.

Over the past three years, following the termination of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), the IPDC has been trying to penetrate other market alternatives in European, Asian and African markets while utilizing local markets effectively, he stated.

Moreover, he mentioned that Ethiopia's industrial products are also now accessing the markets of BRICS countries.

Unlocking these market alternatives, the country is striving to fill the gaps that the removal from AGOA caused so far. Zemen also indicated the ever increasing employee's turnover in industrial parks as the industries are equipping the workers with the required knowledge and skill.

The IPDC has been administering some 13 industrial parks across the country including the Dire Dawa Free Trade Zone, it was learnt.