Analysis Of Ethiopia's Merchandise Imports for Q2 2022/23

The total merchandise import bill amounted to USD 4.5 billion during the second quarter of 2022/23, reflecting a 3.55 percent annual growth. This growth can be attributed to increased import values of capital goods, fuel, semi-finished goods, raw materials, and miscellaneous goods.

The import bill for semi-finished goods increased by 2.278 percent, primarily driven by a significant growth in fertilizer imports (73.09 percent). However, the share of semi-finished goods in total merchandise import bills slightly declined to 15.7 percent from 15.9 percent compared to the previous year.

Import value of consumer goods showed a 12.08 percent annual decrease, primarily driven by a decline in non-durable goods (16.6 percent). However, there was a notable growth in the import of durable goods (34.9 percent). Consequently, the share of consumer goods in total imports went down to 42.5 percent from 50.0 percent compared to the previous year.

Payments for fuel imports surged by 33.27 percent, resulting in an increased share of fuel in total import payments (21.2 percent compared to 16.5 percent a year ago). This rise can be attributed to the increased demand for fuel in various sectors.

The import bill for capital goods increased by 21.34 percent, driven by significant growth in industrial capital goods (31.93 percent) and agricultural capital goods (42.17 percent). However, there was a 39.10 percent decline in transport capital goods. Consequently, the share of capital goods import in total goods import increased to 18.9 percent from 16.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Import bills for raw materials increased by 9.82 percent during the review period. As a result, their share in total merchandise import bills stood at 0.8 percent. This growth in raw material imports reflects the demand for inputs in various industries.

Imports of miscellaneous goods depicted a substantial annual growth of 32.98 percent.