Ethiopia rises port tariff by 15%
The Ethiopian government has been notified by its Djiboutian counterpart, as per their bilateral agreement, that it is to increase tariffs by up to 15% on various facilities the Port of Djibouti render, as of August 15, Capital learnt.
An official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ethiopia told Capital that the ministry is currently studying the economic impact and a dialog has been launched recently between both governments joint committee members over the issue.
Ethiopia uses 90 percent of Djibouti ports services and relies nearly 100% on the port for imports. It is to be recalled that the Port of Djibouti had introduced an increment in 2001, after negotiations with the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopias import traffic via Djibouti port has been regularly increasing. Over 3.9 million metric tons of goods were imported in the year 1998 E.C. The volume increased to over 4.6 million metric tons in 1999 E.C.
According to a report from ENA, Ethiopias import via the Port of Djibouti increased by 20% in March this year, quoting the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Ato Shemsedin Ahmed Roble.
Relief grain import has decreased while construction materials and goods related to investment and infrastructure development have significantly increased lately. However, in view of the current drought this situation may reverse.
The new increment when applied will concern all port users, including vessels, operators, charters, mortgagees or agents, the cargo owners or agents (shippers), and other users of the port.
Although all attempts to obtain comments from the Port of Djibouti did not materialize until this paper went to print, in a previous interview with Capital, Djibouti Port Commercial Director, Aboubacar O. Hadi had explained that port charges on import represent only 1.6% of the total value of goods and on export the charges represent only 0.78%.
In view of the continuous upgrading undertaken by the Port, and the hike in petrol price, over USD 145/barrel and rising, increments in the port charges were inevitable, note observers.
In 2007, Ethiopian imports were at 5 billion dollars and exports were 1.2 billion dollars worth. The port charge increment would incur millions in additional costs for Ethiopia.
The port of Djibouti had total traffic of 7.4 million metric tons in 2007, a 36% increase from the 5.4 million metric tons in 2006. The transshipment traffic has also been growing rapidly. Ethiopia and Djibouti combined represent 120,000 container imports, while transshipment alone is 50,000 containers.
The Port is also expecting to increase its transshipment business starting from next year with the Port of Doraleh. After completion in December 2008, the Port of Doraleh expects to service in the first two years 1.5 million containers per year. Later, it is expected to handle 2 million containers.
An official at the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Ethiopia told Capital that the ministry is currently studying the economic impact and a dialog has been launched recently between both governments joint committee members over the issue.
Ethiopia uses 90 percent of Djibouti ports services and relies nearly 100% on the port for imports. It is to be recalled that the Port of Djibouti had introduced an increment in 2001, after negotiations with the Ethiopian government.
Ethiopias import traffic via Djibouti port has been regularly increasing. Over 3.9 million metric tons of goods were imported in the year 1998 E.C. The volume increased to over 4.6 million metric tons in 1999 E.C.
According to a report from ENA, Ethiopias import via the Port of Djibouti increased by 20% in March this year, quoting the Ethiopian Ambassador to Djibouti, Ato Shemsedin Ahmed Roble.
Relief grain import has decreased while construction materials and goods related to investment and infrastructure development have significantly increased lately. However, in view of the current drought this situation may reverse.
The new increment when applied will concern all port users, including vessels, operators, charters, mortgagees or agents, the cargo owners or agents (shippers), and other users of the port.
Although all attempts to obtain comments from the Port of Djibouti did not materialize until this paper went to print, in a previous interview with Capital, Djibouti Port Commercial Director, Aboubacar O. Hadi had explained that port charges on import represent only 1.6% of the total value of goods and on export the charges represent only 0.78%.
In view of the continuous upgrading undertaken by the Port, and the hike in petrol price, over USD 145/barrel and rising, increments in the port charges were inevitable, note observers.
In 2007, Ethiopian imports were at 5 billion dollars and exports were 1.2 billion dollars worth. The port charge increment would incur millions in additional costs for Ethiopia.
The port of Djibouti had total traffic of 7.4 million metric tons in 2007, a 36% increase from the 5.4 million metric tons in 2006. The transshipment traffic has also been growing rapidly. Ethiopia and Djibouti combined represent 120,000 container imports, while transshipment alone is 50,000 containers.
The Port is also expecting to increase its transshipment business starting from next year with the Port of Doraleh. After completion in December 2008, the Port of Doraleh expects to service in the first two years 1.5 million containers per year. Later, it is expected to handle 2 million containers.