Processed Wood Products Trade in Ethiopia; In Case of Paper and Paper Products Trade

Abstract

Paper and paper products were one of the most imported processed wood products at different times of the years. Ethiopia has spent a huge amount of foreign currency to import paper and paper products. However, the income gained from the export of paper and paper products was very small and caused a trade deficit. This trade deficit has an impact on the economy of the country. However, the information on the status of the paper and paper product import-export in Ethiopia is lacking. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess the status and trend of imported and exported paper and paper products between 1997 and 2016. To achieve the objective, the raw data on the international trade of paper and paper products in the period between 1997 and 2016 were collected from Ethiopia Revenue and Customs Authority (ECRA). Data were analyzed by SPSS version 16.0. The result indicated that on average Ethiopia spent US$ 29.85 million/year to import 23700 Tones/year of paper and paper products. The trend of total expenses to import different paper and paper products into Ethiopia and while, the quantities of paper and paper products imported between 1997 and 2016, has been grown by 12.6% and 8.7% yearly, respectively. Thus, Ethiopia spent a large amount of money to import paper and paper products than the money earned by exporting paper and paper products.