Training on Customs Techniques and Application
EFFSAA successfully concluded its six-day training program on “Customs Techniques and Application on Import/Export Trade”, held from July 15-20, 2024. The 24-hour intensive course engaged 29 participants from various industry sectors, including EFFSAA member companies.
The training explored the activities of customs procedures and their operational systems, a critical aspect of international trade. Since the program created a vibrant learning environment, participants actively engaged and provided valuable feedback, emphasizing the need for ongoing customs-related training by the association. In response to this demand and previous stakeholders input, EFFSAA expressed its plans to deliver additional training programs that focuses on customs, to enhance the expertise of logistics professionals.
Our association extends its sincere gratitude to all participants for their active involvement and valuable contributions to the training’s success.
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Customs Defers Duty Free Privileges as Bureaucracy Tightens Grip
Officials of the Ethiopian Customs Commission have drastically tightened the rules for duty-free import privileges. According to Commissioner Debele Kabeta, only army and national intelligence chiefs, along with the Minister of Finance, would retain granting these benefits. Effective July 22, 2024, the Commissioner ordered his subordinates to halt processing duty-free imports, reserving the right of final approval solely for his office.
The decisive action disrupts a broad array of incentives instituted for alluring domestic and foreign investors.
Customs officials say they want to impede the widespread misuse of duty-free privileges, claiming it has created systemic and regulatory issues in revenue collection.
Ethiopia offers several incentives to domestic and foreign investors, such as importing duty-free capital goods and construction materials deemed necessary to establish businesses or expand existing enterprises. Businesses with investment licenses could import vehicles duty-free depending on the areas of their investments. Three years ago, duty-free permits were granted by city and regional investment commissions before being approved by the Ministry of Finance. During this period, illicit goods flooded the market, exacerbating the problem.
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ESL Seeks to Expand Fleet With Lease Financing for Four Midsize Vessels
Due to its exceptional performance, the logistics giant Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) is compelled to purchase four medium-sized vessels as soon as possible under a lease finance agreement.
The company, which achieved incredible success in the recently concluded fiscal year, stated that it has proposed buying six vessels, including two brand-new ones, to its board, chaired by Minister of Finance Ahmed Shide.
The CEO of ESL, Berisso Amallo, stated that the company’s success expectations for the current year depend on the arrival of more vessels.
“In order to meet the target set for the current budget year, we urgently need more used vessels,” he told Capital.
According to the strategy, ESL, which is the sole deep-sea vessel operator on the continent, aims to acquire four pre-owned vessels within the budgetary year to enhance the lucrative cross-trade market segment for the generation of hard currency in the region.
The CEO said, “We have presented the proposal to purchase six vessels, including the two brand-new ships, but the four are needed urgently.”
The CEO said that the company will purchase two brand-new ultramax bulk carriers with a capacity of over 63,000 DWT, two used multipurpose vessels with a capacity of 61,000 DWT, and two used container carriers with a carrying capacity of up to 4,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) containers.
ESL currently operates one ultramax bulk carrier and nine handy-size multifunctional carriers.
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Ethiopia’s Birr Drops 30% as Central Bank Floats Currency
Ethiopia’s central bank floated the birr currency on Monday, a move it hopes will secure International Monetary Fund (IMF) support and enable progress on a long-delayed debt restructuring.
The birr’s value against the U.S. dollar slumped by 30% to 74.73 per dollar, the country’s biggest lender, Commercial Bank of Ethiopia said. The currency had been trading at 57.48 birr to the dollar on Friday.
The Horn of Africa nation, which has been struggling with soaring inflation and chronic foreign currency shortages, became the third economy on the continent in as many years to default on its government debt last December.
It has been in talks with the IMF to establish a new lending programme after the last programme, agreed in 2019, was abandoned due to conflict in the northern region of Tigray. Negotiations resumed after a November 2022 peace deal.
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- https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/ethiopia-shifts-market-based-foreign-exchange-system-2024-07-29/
- https://myviewsonnews.net/ethiopia-eases-restrictions-on-foreign-currency-accounts/
Shipping Lines Reports 57 bln Revenues, Discloses Trucking Problems in Amhara Region
The Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics Service Enterprise (ESLSE) wraps up the fiscal year with close to 8.9 billion birr in profits before tax, exceeding the expectations of its executives, who had targeted 6.7 billion birr.
The state-owned firm generated a whopping 57 billion birr in revenues over the reporting period, but heavy expenses registered at 48 billion birr weighed down the performance. ESLSE managed to generate over USD 420 million, or approximately 40 percent of its total revenues, in foreign currency.
The Enterprise handled 45 percent of the 8.25 million tons of goods imported into Ethiopia during the 2023/24 fiscal year. The remainder was handled by private logistics firms. Chemical fertilizers account for the vast majority of the Enterprise’s import cargo, of which only 12 percent was moved from ports in Djibouti via rail. The majority was driven in on the back of trucks.
Rail accounted for only 36 percent of the Enterprise’s total multimodal transport volume this year, according to the annual report. It attributes the low figure to reluctance from clients.
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African Airlines Report 12% Demand Growth for Air Cargo in June
African airlines saw 11.8 percent year-on-year demand growth for air cargo in June. Demand on the Africa–Asia market increased by 37.5 percent compared to June 2023, the strongest performance of all trade lanes. June capacity increased by 23.8% year-on-year, according to the latest update from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Total air cargo demand, measured in cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs), rose by 14.1 percent in June 2024 compared to June 2023 levels (15.6 percent for international operations). This is the seventh consecutive month of double-digit year-on-year growth, according to the update from IATA.
Willie Walsh, Director General, IATA says: “Air cargo demand surged in June. Strong growth across all regions and major trade lanes combined for a record-breaking first-half performance in terms of CTKs. Maritime shipping constraints and a booming e-commerce sector are among the strongest growth drivers.
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