Year over year, Ethiopia’s most recent exports total represents a 17.4% acceleration from $2.86 billion starting from 2023.
Based on average exchange rates, the Ethiopian birr shrank by -52.2% against the US dollar since 2020 and depreciated by -24.5% from 2023 to 2024. Ethiopia’s weaker local currency made Ethiopian exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
Ethiopia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data from 2023 shows that 67.4% of products exported from Ethiopia was bought by importers in: Saudi Arabia (10.4% of the Ethiopian total), United States of America (9.7%), Netherlands (7.6%), United Arab Emirates (5.7%), Somalia (5%), India (4.9%), Germany (4.7%), mainland China (4.6%), South Korea (4.1%), Japan (3.6%), Israel (also 3.6%) and Djibouti (3.4%).
From a continental perspective, 51.1% of Ethiopia’s exports by value was delivered to Asian countries while 23.2% was sold to importers in Europe. Ethiopia shipped another 14% worth of goods to Africa.
Smaller percentages went to buyers in North America (10.5%), Oceania mostly Australia and New Zealand (1%) and Latin America (0.2%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given Ethiopia’s population of 108.4 million people, its total $3.36 billion in 2024 exports translates to roughly $30 for every resident in the northeast African nation. That dollar amount exceeds the average per capita of about $25 one year earlier during 2023.
Ethiopia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in Ethiopian global shipments during 2024. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from Ethiopia.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.5 billion (44.5% of total exports)
- Oil seeds: $395.4 million (11.8%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $330.4 million (9.8%)
- Vegetables: $190 million (5.7%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $182.2 million (5.4%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $145.5 million (4.3%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $86.1 million (2.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $66.8 million (2%)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: $60.2 million (1.8%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $46.7 million (1.4%)
Ethiopia’s top 10 exports accounted for 89.3% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 9,371% from 2023 to 2024.
In second place for improving export sales was aircraft and spacecraft via a 1,071% acceleration.
Ethiopia’s shipments of paper yarn and woven fabric posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 388%.
The leading decliner among Ethiopia’s top 10 export categories was vegetables, recording a -61.9% year-over-year drop.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, coffee represents Ethiopia’s most valuable exported product generating over two-fifths (44.3%) of the country’s total.
In second place were trailed by oil seeds (9.2%), fresh or dried flowers for bouquets or ornamental purposes (8.5%), dried shelled vegetables (5.2%), electrical energy (2.5%), soya beans (1.9%), aircraft or spacecraft parts (1.8%), turbojets (1.6%), unknitted and non-crocheted men’s suits or trousers (1.5%), then knitted or crocheted infant clothing (1.2%).
Products Attracting Ethiopia’s Largest Trade Surpluses
The following types of Ethiopian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Coffee, tea, spices: US$1.5 billion (Up by 21.3% since 2023)
- Oil seeds: $378.8 million (Down by -5.9%)
- Live trees, plants, cut flowers: $326.6 million (Up by 27.2%)
- Vegetables: $181.3 million (Down by -43.9%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $160.5 million (Up by 763.6%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $126.1 million (Reversing a -$62.4 million deficit)
- Meat: $35.4 million (Down by -43.3%)
- Paper yarn, woven fabric: $26.6 million (Up by 250.6%)
- Food industry waste, animal fodder: $25.8 million (Down by -1087.5%)
- Raw hides, skins not furskins, leather: $16.3 million (Reversing a -$2.6 million deficit)
Ethiopia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of coffee. In turn, these cashflows indicate Ethiopia’s strong competitive advantages under the coffee, tea and spices product category.
Products Causing Ethiopia’s Worst Trade Deficits
Ethiopia incurred an overall -US$4.6 billion trade deficit during 2024, shrinking by -67.3% from the -$14.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2023.
Below are exports from Ethiopia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country Ethiopia’s goods trail its importer spending on foreign products.
- Machinery including computers: -US$1.7 billion (Down by -9.3% since 2023)
- Aircraft, spacecraft: -$1.2 billion (Up by 218.6%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$1.1 billion (Down by -15.4%)
- Pharmaceuticals: -$420.2 million (Down by -37.7%)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$288.7 million (Down by -65.2%)
- Vehicles: -$288.1 million (Down by -78%)
- Optical, technical, medical apparatus: -$228.7 million (Up by 0.6%)
- Other chemical goods: -$216.6 million (Down by -35.1%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: -$207.7 million (Down by -92.2%)
- Articles of iron or steel: -$185.2 million (Down by -42.8%)
Ethiopia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits under the machinery including computers product category.
Ethiopian Export Companies
Given that Ethiopia is an emerging economy, it should come as no surprise that not one Ethiopian corporation appears on the Forbes Global 2000 list.
Wikipedia does document some Ethiopian export companies. Selected examples are shown below.
- Ambo Mineral Water (bottled mineral water)
- Ethio Telecom (mobile, fixed line, broadband services)
- Marathon Motors Engineering (automobiles)
- Yebbo Communication Network (software, websites)
- Yousran International (sesame seeds, spice seeds, edible oils)
According to global trade intelligence firm Zepol, the following companies are examples of Ethiopian exporters representing diverse industries.
- A Oil Seeds and Cereals Export (beans including kidney beans)
- Haicof Limited (coffee)
- Harar Brewery Share (malt beer)
- Max Export (polypropylene)
- Packtra (polyesters, lamps)
In macroeconomic terms, Ethiopia’s total exported goods represent 0.8% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2024 ($442.6 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 0.8% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2024 compares to 0.7% for 2024. Those percentages suggest a relatively increasing reliance on products sold on international markets for Ethiopia’s total economic performance, albeit based on relatively short timeframe.
Another key indicator of a country’s economic performance is its unemployment rate. Ethiopia’s unemployment rate was an estimated 18.7% for 2025, down from an average 18.8% one year earlier in 2024 per a Trading Economics forecast.
Ethiopia’s capital city is Addis Ababa.
See also Ethiopia’s Top Trading Partners, Ethiopia’s Top 10 Imports, China’s Top Trading Partners, India’s Top Trading Partners and Top African Export Countries
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook Country Profiles. Accessed on July 23, 2025
Forbes, Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on July 23, 2025
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Databases (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on July 23, 2025
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on July 23, 2025
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on July 23, 2025
The World Bank, Official Exchange Rate (LCU per US$, period average) – Ethiopia. Accessed on July 23, 2025
Wikipedia, List of Companies of Ethiopia. Accessed on July 23, 2025
Zepol’s company summary highlights by country. Accessed on July 23, 2025