Ethiopia: Chamber Says Agro-Chemical Investment Lucrative

Agro-Chemical

The Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ACCSA) said raising members awareness of the country's investment opportunities would help bridge decision making gaps.

Opening business forum on opportunities, production and marketing of major agricultural chemicals Wednesday, AACCSA Secretary General Getachew Regassa indicated the forum attached increased focus on available opportunities in the major agro-chemical industry.

AACCSA is engaged in assisting pertinent business owners to engage in demand-driven investment, he said, adding: "We also promote trade and investment in a bid to creating business friendly environment and vibrant private sector, working in partnership with government, business community, development partners and other stakeholders.

According to Getachew, AACCSA has been working with experts and researchers to provide business owners with opportunities of producing and marketing major agricultural chemicals.

Researcher Feleke Borga said for his part Ethiopia is net importer of the agro-chemicals, fully dependent on international producers despite attractive incentives and huge production potential.

According to Feleke, Ethiopia had imported 341,000 ton fertilizer worth 5 billion Birr in 2014, eight per cent of national GDP."Investors will be profitable if they engage in this sector for it has high demands. And farmers and enterprises won't be exposed to purchase any argo-chemical that completes its shelf life too," Feleke said.

High agro-chemical demand, availability of raw materials/ inputs, quick and high rate return, and availability of different kinds of government incentives make agro-chemical production and supply investment attractive, he added.