Ethiopia’s foreign currency spending on fertilizer import has almost tripled in December 2009 as compared to the previous month.
The data obtained from Revenue and Customs Authority shows that the country has imported fertilizer worth over 29 million USD in December while the country’s spending for the previous month stands at around 11 million USD.
The total fertilizer import bill of the country in was at around 740,000 USD in December 2008, and skyrocketed to 77 million USD in June 2009.
According to reports, Ethiopia’s economy was adversely affected in early 2009 by high commodity prices. Increases in international prices of fuel, fertilizers, and cereals in 2008 have considerably weakened the country’s international reserves position and contributed to inflationary pressure.
In January 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a disbursement in a total of about 50 million USD to Ethiopia under its rapid-access component of the Exogenous Shocks Facility (ESF).