Cotton Production And Marketing Trend In Ethiopia: A Review

Ethiopia is one of the African countries that produce and export cotton. It has a long tradition of cotton cultivation with an estimated area of 2.6 million hectares suitable for this product. Of these 65% is found in 38 high potential cotton-producing areas and the remaining 0.9 million ha or 35% is in 75 medium potential districts. Of the total land under cotton cultivation, 33% is cultivated by small holders, 45% by private farms and 22% are state-owned farms. But, Ethiopia shares only 5% of total cotton produced in Africa. This is because it recently cultivates only 3% of the total suitable land for cotton production. Ethiopia produces an average of 33,842.11 metric tonnes in the year 2000-2018. The production trend shows some declining stage since 2012. Natural and technological constraints were existed for cotton production in this country. The country also participates on the export market and earned an average of $14,336,667 especially in the last decade. Currently the country exports with an average price of $1.45. Cotton market has also some constraints like price disincentives and lack of market information. Despite its inefficiency the cotton sector still has its own vital economic role on textile industry and employment creation. It employs about 52,754 smallholder farmers. Therefore, it is recommended that the government, the producers and other relevant stakeholders should work in collaboration to solve the constraints.