Ethiopia has purchased 43.37 million liters of edible oil from a Djibouti-based palm oil manufacturing firm in a bid to stabilize its market.Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance in a briefing said on Tuesday that the purchase has been carried out through the Ethiopian Trading Businesses Corporation (ETBC) and Ethiopian Industrial Input Development Enterprise (EIIDE).

 The two public enterprises signed contracts with Golden Africa Djibouti, an edible and cooking oil manufacturing firm, for the supply of 43,370,412 liters of palm oil.

 As per the contracts, the enterprises will pay a combined total of 69.89 million US Dollars for Golden Africa in a twelve-month period.

 The Ministry of Finance has already provided performance bonds for the loan that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE) offered for the palm oil purchase.

 The Finance Ministry says the latest purchase is a part of the government’s efforts to stabilize the edible oil market in Ethiopia where year-on-year food inflation showed a 34.2% increase in November 2022.

 After the announcement of the contracts, the ministry sent an official letter to the two enterprises setting the price for the palm oil that will be imported packed in 3, 5, and 20 liters of Jerri cans.

 In Addis Ababa, a 3-liter edible oil will be sold at 314 birr while the price of a five-liter palm oil set is $5.6. 

A 20-liter of edible oil will also be sold at $37.5.

The palm oil will be distributed to the public in other areas with the selling price that takes the cost of transport from the main store in the capital to each destination into account.