Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. In 2001 the quantity of imports of malt increased to 9,623,940 kg, while the CIF value at Djibouti was birr 36,749,083 that is really embarrassing for an agricultural country, The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa) reported.

That means the percentage of 2001 over the 1998 imports in terms of quantity was 275 while the percentage in value terms was 344.0 that indicates that Ethiopian agriculture has deteriorated to a low level. The linkage that was carefully established between agriculture and manufacturing industry is distorted.

In 1998, the quantity of imports of malt in Ethiopia was 3,501,801 kg only, while the CIF value paid up was birr 10,675,244 and before 1998 malt was not imported. After the establishment of the Assela Maltery in 1977 -Ethiopian calendar- imports were stopped.

04 March, 2003