The recently established Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park commenced export of avocados for the firs time and generated more than $2.5 million from avocado oil products.
The park exported to European countries during the first nine months of Ethiopian Calendar stared July 8, 2025, according to the Sidama Regional Industrial Parks Development Corporation. The Chief Executive Officer of the Sidama Regional Industrial Parks Development Corporation, Haylu Yetera, stated that efforts are underway in the region to increase industrial productivity and revenue-generating capacity.
He noted that particular attention has been given at the Yirgalem Integrated Agro-Industrial Park to producing export-oriented and import-substitute products in both large quantity and high quality.
Among the 34 companies that have signed agreements to invest in the industrial park, 10 are currently engaged in production activities, he said.
He further explained that during the first nine months of the fiscal year alone, avocado oil exports to European countries generated more than 2.5 million U.S. dollars in revenue.
He also stated that investors engaged in processing agricultural products for the domestic market within the industrial park have been able to save foreign currency by producing import-substitute goods.
In recent years avocado production and processing in Ethiopia has been growing following the introduction of agro-processing parks in different parts of the country mainly by the government. Israeli aid agency and the USID have also been assisting stallholder farmers and Ethiopia’s ministry of agriculture helping the farmers get better avocado varieties and better production techniques.
