Gov’t Importing 400,000 Tons of Wheat to Curb Inflation

August 25,2021 (ENA) The Government of Ethiopia is importing over 400,000 tons of wheat to curb the rapidly increasing inflation, Macroeconomics Senior Advisor at the Office of the Prime Minster said.

Speaking at the monthly forum ‘Addis Weg’, Macroeconomics Senior Advisor Mamo Esmelealem said the home-grown economic reform that has been implemented over the past three years has brought change into the country’s economy.

He cited the 3.6 billion USD the country secured from export in the concluded Ethiopian budget year as an example.

Indicating that the country has also attracted 3.9 billion USD in FDI, the senior advisor said the secured amount of money has shown 64 percent increment when compared with the last budget year.

Mamo said the liberalization of the telecommunication sector has contributed to the growth in  Foreign Direct Investment.

Yet, "inflation still remains the major challenge we have not solved," he noted.

According to him, the reasons for this are the gap between demand and supply and the rise of price of commodities abroad.

He explained that the prices of iron bar at the global market increased by 32 percent, petroleum by 41 percent, and food commodities by 13 percent.

In this regard, the government has purchased 400,000 tons of wheat to abate the burden of inflation, the senior advisor stated.

Out of the purchased wheat, 40,000 tons has arrived at port and about 18,000 tons in warehouses inside the country.

In addition, 36.5 million liters of edible oil is procured.

The senior advisor elaborated that the government has been taking corrective measures, especially in the financial transaction and the financial systems to solve the problem permanently.