ADDIS ABABA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia has a target to generate 30 billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange earnings from the textile and garment sector by 2030, according to Bogale Feleke, Ethiopian Deputy Minister of Industry.
The deputy minister made the remarks while addressing a workshop organized to promote Ethiopia's textile industry sector held in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa on Monday.
"We intend to increase our area of cotton production. At present, only 20 percent of the three million hectares are used for cotton production while we aim to increase to around 80 percent," local media FBC quoted Feleke as saying.
Noting his country's commitment in developing 13 industrial parks in the near future, majority of them in the textile and apparel sector, Feleke revealed that Ethiopia intends to have close to 150 textile and garment companies by the year 2020.
The east African country is on the constant effort to increase its cotton production, Feleke told workshop participants gathered from the Ethiopian Investment Promotion and International Trade Centre.
Ethiopia has nearly 175 textile units and it is increasing the investment scope with the provision of energy supply, trained work-force and other necessities at an affordable price, according to Feleke.
According to the World Investment Report's 2016 edition, the east African country is the second largest in attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the textile industry sector, next to Vietnam.
With a workforce of more than 47 million and a burgeoning younger generation, Africa's second most populous country is striving hard to generate employment opportunities, in which the textile and garment industry sector is said to be at the forefront. Enditem
