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Ethiopia Imports
Ethiopia's major category of import items was consumer
goods, which accounted for about one-third of the value of
imports during the period EFY l984/85 to EFY 1988/89.
Capital goods, primarily machinery and transportation
equipment, accounted for another 39 percent, with fuel,
semifinished goods, and durable consumer goods accounting
for the other third of the value of imports. A major
structural change in Ethiopia's imports was the relative
increase in the importation of food items. During the three
years ending in EFY l986/87, cereals and other food items
accounted for 22 percent of the total value of imports; in
l974 cereal and food items had accounted for only 4.6
percent. As a result, the share of nondurable consumer items
jumped from l6.8 percent in l974 to 34.2 percent in l985. It
dropped to 24.9 percent in EFY l986/87.
Imports provided the capital and intermediate goods upon
which industry depended. Imports also satisfied most of the
country's demand for nonfood consumer goods, such as
automobiles, radios, televisions, pharmaceuticals, and
textiles. In the five years ending in EFY l986/87, the
relative share of the value of transportation and
transportation equipment increased, reflecting the country's
increasing demand for trucks and other heavy road vehicles
needed to transport food to areas affected by drought and
famine.
Most of Ethiopia's imports came from Western countries.
Italy, the United States, West Germany, and Japan, in order
of importance, accounted for 45 percent of total imports in
l987. The Soviet Union accounted for l6 percent of the value
of imports in l987. By contrast, Ethiopia's exports to the
Soviet Union amounted to only 5 percent of total exports in
1987. The relatively high proportion of imports from the
Soviet Union was largely because of oil; in l987 Ethiopia
received virtually all its crude petroleum from the Soviet
Union. In l987 the United States remained Ethiopia's major
trading partner despite cool relationships between the two
countries; the United States ranked first in buying
Ethiopia's exports and third in satisfying Ethiopia's import
needs.
Data as of 1991
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