Natural Resources and Trade

Natural Resources and Trade in Ethiopia

Ethiopia is situated on the Horn of Africa, on the edge of the Great Rift Valley, near, but not adjacent to, the Red Sea. Ethiopia’s geographic location and features gives the country a distinct advantage in the way of natural resources and trade. Being situated on the edge of the Rift Valley, much of Ethiopia is higher above sea level than the rest of the African continent. Most of the continent’s land stands at an elevation of 500-1000 meters. Of the relatively small amount of continental land above 2,000 meters, Ethiopia possesses half. Of the scarce amount of land over 3,000 meters, Ethiopia is home to over three-fourths. This exceptionally high elevation is the cause for excessive rainfall in the Ethiopian highlands - rainfall which is atypical of a country so close to the Red Sea. According to John Reader, “the elevated land masses also force moisture-laden winds up to levels at which clouds form and rain falls. The hot and damp Red Sea winds... rise when they strike the Rift Valley escarpment... and are the source of the rain which falls on the plateau beyond” (Reader, 211). These unique circumstances gave rise to the mighty kingdom of Aksum. Reader writes, “the unique environmental circumstances of northern Ethiopia combined with the trading opportunities of the Red Sea to fuel the rise of sub-Saharan Africa’s first indigenous state” (Reader, 205). The Kingdom of Aksum was involved in a vast system of international trade, trading with Egypt, the eastern Mediterranean regions of the Roman Empire, and Arabia. They exported products such as ivory, rhinoceros horn, hippopotamus hides, gold dust, frankincense, civet-cat musk, elephants, and slaves.

The unique Ethiopian climate has also given rise to plants, endemic to Ethiopia, many of which are domesticated and economically important. Coffee originated in Ethiopia, and was there first domesticated. “The status of coffee as an endemic plant first domesticated in Ethiopia is unchallenged” (Reader, 212). From Ethiopia, coffee spread to the Islamic world, then to Europe, and then to America. Coffee has long been Ethiopia’s foremost cash crop. In 2012, coffee generated 26 percent of Ethiopia’’s export revenues. In previous decades that number was closer to 50 percent. Another plant to have originated in Ethiopia is teff. Teff is a delicate plant which produces a small grain, and “the cereal which contributed most to the historical development of the region” 212 Agriculture in general is the foundation of the Ethiopian economy, accounting for half of GDP and over 80 percent of exports. Mining, particularly gold mining, is also an increasingly important part of the Ethiopian economy. According to one report, in 2012, mining accounted for more than 19 percent of the total value of the country’s exports (World Bank Group).

"Ethiopian Coffee"

Sources:

“Ethiopian Coffee.” EphremTube. Accessed 23 Sept. 2016. http://www.ephremtube.com/Gallery/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Ethiopian-Coffee-with-be-seni.jpg

Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York: First Vintage Books, 1999. 

World Bank Group. 2014. Strategic Assessment of the Ethiopian Mineral Sector: Final Report. Washington, DC. World Bank. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/20585