Fertilizer import for 2023/24 farming season Begins

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopia has begun importing soil fertilizer into the country for the new 2023/24 farming seasons.

The shipment began weeks after authorities announced that the country secured a 23 million quintals fertilizer supply deal.

The first batch of the UREA fertilizer for the summer wheat production arrived at Djibouti ports on Sunday evening.

We are preparing to cultivate 3 million hectares of irrigated wheat this year, the PM Office said after the annual summer wheat production was officially launched in the Afar region on Sunday.

Today, Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) announced that it has commenced the new fertilizer season shipment.

Per the ESL, the first Vessel carrying 51,420 metric tons of UREA fertilizer, docked at the port of Djibouti on October 29, 2023.

“The dispatch operation also started soon after the arrival of the vessel,” the state-owned logistics firm said.

Delay in fertilizer import last year resulted in shortages of the agricultural input across the country.

The Ministry of Agriculture moved to secure a supply deal with the Moroccan state-owned firm OCP after amending its two-decade-old directive.

The ministry says the amendment made the procurement process flexible, allowing authorities to purchase the input directly, instead of only through international bids.

OCP agreed to supply 23 million tons of NPS, urea, and DAP fertilizers to Ethiopia. The amount will substantially increase fertilizers import by 9 million tons from the 13.9 million tons brought in last year.

Ethiopian Shipping and Logistics (ESL) says it has made “ample preparations… to swiftly deliver the fertilizer into the country”.