Browse Data and Analysis

The Ethiopian Sugar Corporation (ESC) and the Ethiopian Industrial Input Development Enterprise (EIIDE) have separately issued international competitive tenders to purchase 200,000 metric tons (MT) of white cane sugar and 10,000 MT of lint cotton, respectively.

South Asia, which includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, accounts for 24 percent of the world’s population, with 1.84 billion people in 2019.

Ethiopian farmers and researchers have tried to address food security shortfalls and plant health issues through conventional breeding without success.

Cotton production for MY2019/20 is forecast at 262,000 bales (57,000 metric tons), 8 percent higher than the previous year.

In 2018, the Government of Ethiopia (GOE) authorized cultivation of genetically engineered (GE) cotton by granting official approvals for environmental release.

In May, the Ethiopian Ministry of Environment approved Bt cotton – the country’s first biotech crop – for cultivation.

Cotton production in MY17/18 (Aug-Jul) is projected to fall to 176,000 bales (38,000 MT) because of poor weather conditions and pest damage.

Ethiopia completed its second round of Bt cotton confined field trials in 2017 and commercialization is expected within the next couple of years.

For the past several years, Ethiopia has invested in establishing the legal and regulatory systems, as well as the technical capacity to support and manage the adoption of genetically engineered...

After a small decline in MY15/16 (Aug-Jul) because of the drought, cotton production is forecast to more than recover, reaching 207,000 bales (45,000 metric tons) in MY16/17.

On August 14, 2015, the President of Ethiopia signed into law the necessary regulatory framework that will allow the cultivation of genetically-engineered Bt cotton.

Ethiopia's cotton production, which has remained fairly flat in recent years, is estimated at 184,000 bales (40,000 metric tons) in MY14/15.