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Open up foreign trade! Ethiopia to allow foreign investment in trade

Published: 2026-02-25 Author:

Last Updated: 2026/02/25, Recently, according to a report by the local Ethiopian media reporter network, under the leadership of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) issued a new law that will allow foreign companies to participate in import, export, wholesale and retail trade. It is understood that due to the early Ethiopian government's policy of protecting

Recently, under the leadership of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abby, the Ethiopian Investment Commission (EIC) will issue a new law that will allow foreign companies to participate in import, export, wholesale and retail trade, the Ethiopian local media network reported.

It is understood that as a result of the policy formulated by the early Ethiopian government to protect specific areas from competition from outsourced investment, the policy is aimed at protecting domestic investors from competition from foreign investors. As a result, the import and export, retail and wholesale industries have been banned from foreign investors or companies for so many years.

Under the new policy, foreign investors can now participate in retail trade investments that were previously limited to local investors. In the export sector, foreign investors can now participate in the management of coffee, Arabica tea, oilseeds, legumes, raw skins, forest products, poultry and livestock, while on the import side, foreign investors can engage in all imports except chemical fertilizers and oil.

However, the new policy also states that foreign investors or investment enterprises need to meet the commodity restrictions and conditions of the new policy in order to obtain a license. For example, foreign companies that want to obtain a coffee export license need to provide proof that they purchase coffee worth at least $10 million a year for at least three consecutive years before applying for the license, while other products have the same amount requirements. it's just a difference in the amount.

In this regard, the deputy director of the Ethiopian Investment Commission said that it was not an easy decision, but foreign investors showed great interest in it, and the new policy would bring great changes to the trading system.

A legal expert who provides commercial legal services for a number of industries predicts that foreign companies, especially those in the coffee industry, will queue up to apply for export licenses. In addition, it is believed that the policy will benefit the Ethiopian economy, as foreign investors are more interested in participating in the international trading system than locals.

However, at present, there are still many problems in Ethiopia, the armed group "Fano" is also active in Ethiopia's Amhara region, frequent conflicts with government forces. In addition in mid-April the people's Liberation Front of Tigre launched a military operation to control the area near the town of Alamata.

Therefore, for the current conflict situation, there are investor analysis, conflict and war brought about by political instability, social instability, security risks and other factors, will make investors worry about the investment environment and reduce their willingness to invest. Second, the war may cause losses to the country's infrastructure, production capacity and supply chain, limiting production and business activities, so risk assessment needs to be done before investment.