Ethiopia agriculture: Production, trade & prices

32.8 Mt

of grain harvested by private peasant holdings in the 2021/22 Meher season, excluding Tigray¹

US$2.67 bn

earned from coffee exports in 2024/25, 31.9% of merchandise exports²

66.3 m

cattle kept by private peasant holdings in 2021/22, excluding Tigray³

14.8%

year-on-year food price inflation in September 2026⁴

3.1

Cereals, pulses and oilseeds

The Agricultural Sample Survey of the Ethiopian Statistics Service (ESS) estimates the area and production of private peasant holdings in the Meher season, the season of the long rains. In 2021/22, excluding Tigray, grain crops covered 12.20 million hectares and produced 327.9 million quintals, or 32.79 million tonnes (own conversion), of which cereals made up 88.7%, pulses 9.7% and oilseeds 1.7%¹. Maize production was 10.75 million tonnes, wheat 5.81 million, teff 5.61 million and sorghum 3.55 million¹. Teff was grown on 2.93 million hectares by 6.66 million holders and maize on 2.56 million hectares by 11.17 million holders¹. Oromia produced 53.5% and Amhara 34.3% of the 2021/22 grain total (own calculation)¹.

Grain production rose from 25.15 million tonnes in 2013/14 to 34.18 million tonnes in 2020/21 (own conversion)⁵⁶. The editions differ in coverage. Until 2018/19 the survey excluded the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones, the 2020/21 edition imputed the 2019/20 estimates for Tigray, and the 2021/22 edition excludes Tigray and imputes the 2020/21 estimates for Benishangul-Gumuz⁷⁶¹. The 2021/22 report shows 2020/21 grain output at 32.13 million tonnes, below the 34.18 million tonnes published a year earlier (own conversion)¹. Maize yields rose from 3.25 tonnes per hectare in 2013/14 to 4.20 tonnes in 2021/22, wheat yields from 2.45 to 3.11 tonnes and teff yields from 1.47 to 1.91 tonnes (own conversion)⁵¹.

The Meher survey does not cover the Belg (short rainy) season, dry-season irrigated crops, including irrigated wheat, or commercial farms⁶. In 2020/21 the Meher harvest of private holdings supplied 92.21% of the national grain production of 370.7 million quintals, the Belg season 3.98% and commercial farms 3.81%⁸. Large and medium commercial farms harvested 1.36 million tonnes of grain from 650,076 hectares in the 2021/22 Meher season (own conversion)⁹. FAOSTAT, which uses a different coverage, shows maize production rising from 3.91 million tonnes in 2005 to an estimated 11.70 million tonnes in 2024¹⁰.

Grain production of private peasant holdings in the Meher season

Cereals, pulses and oilseeds, million tonnes, 2013/14–2021/22

Agricultural year	Cereals (Mt)	Pulses (Mt)	Oilseeds (Mt)
2013/14	21.58	2.86	0.71
2014/15	23.61	2.67	0.76
2015/16	23.13	2.77	0.78
2016/17	25.38	2.81	0.84
2017/18	26.78	2.98	0.86
2018/19	27.76	3.01	0.79
2019/20	29.66	3.01	0.84
2020/21	30.21	3.2	0.78
2021/22	29.08	3.17	0.54

Source: ESS — Own conversion from quintals (1 quintal = 100 kg). Each year comes from its own ESS edition, except 2014/15 (2015/16 edition) and 2019/20 (2020/21 edition), which come from the prior-year column of the next edition. Until 2018/19 the surveys excluded the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones. In 2020/21 the Tigray estimates of 2019/20 were imputed, and 2021/22 excludes Tigray. The series covers neither the Belg season, dry-season irrigation nor commercial farms.

Production of the five major cereals

Private peasant holdings, Meher season, million tonnes, 2013/14–2021/22

Agricultural year	Maize (Mt)	Teff (Mt)	Wheat (Mt)	Sorghum (Mt)	Barley (Mt)
2013/14	6.49	4.42	3.93	3.83	1.91
2014/15	7.23	4.75	4.23	4.34	1.95
2015/16	7.15	4.47	4.22	4.32	1.86
2016/17	7.85	5.02	4.54	4.75	2.02
2017/18	8.4	5.28	4.64	5.17	2.05
2018/19	9.49	5.4	4.84	5.02	1.77
2019/20	9.63	5.74	5.32	5.26	2.38
2020/21	10.56	5.51	5.78	4.52	2.34
2021/22	10.75	5.61	5.81	3.55	2.07

Source: ESS — Own conversion from quintals. Editions and coverage breaks as in the grain production chart. The Meher reports exclude dry-season irrigated wheat (2020/21 edition, note 5).

Cereal yields of private peasant holdings

Meher season, tonnes per hectare, 2013/14–2021/22

Agricultural year	Maize (t/ha)	Wheat (t/ha)	Sorghum (t/ha)	Teff (t/ha)
2013/14	3.25	2.45	2.28	1.47
2014/15	3.43	2.54	2.37	1.58
2015/16	3.39	2.54	2.33	1.56
2016/17	3.68	2.68	2.53	1.66
2017/18	3.94	2.74	2.73	1.75
2018/19	4.01	2.77	2.75	1.76
2019/20	4.24	2.97	2.88	1.85
2020/21	4.18	3.05	2.69	1.88
2021/22	4.2	3.11	2.63	1.91

Source: ESS — Published yields in quintals per hectare divided by 10 (own conversion). For 2018/19 the yields of Table 4 of that edition are shown, which equal production divided by area, because Table 2 prints slightly different values (for example 39.92 instead of 40.09 quintals per hectare for maize).

Cropped area of the major grain crops

Private peasant holdings, Meher season 2021/22, thousand hectares

	Area ('000 ha)
Teff	2,932.7
Maize	2,563.2
Wheat	1,867
Sorghum	1,350.5
Barley	799.1
Faba beans	520.6
Finger millet	366.3
Red haricot beans	240.8
Field peas	220.2
Sesame	204.5
Neug	179.8

Source: ESS — Table 4 of the 2021/22 edition, excluding Tigray. Grain crops covered 12.20 million hectares in total. Teff was grown by 6.66 million holders and maize by 11.17 million.

Where the 2020/21 grain harvest came from

Share of national grain production by season and farm type, 2020/21

92.2%

Meher season, private peasant holdings · 92.21 %Belg season, private peasant holdings · 3.98 %Commercial farms · 3.81 %

Source: ESS — ESS Belg season report 2020/21, Summary Table 2. Total grain production was 370,708,841.87 quintals. Dry-season irrigated crops are not included.

Major crops of private peasant holdings, Meher season 2021/22

Crop	Holders	Area (ha)	Production (t)	Yield (t/ha)
Teff	6,656,750	2,932,670	5,614,339	1.91
Maize	11,168,752	2,563,201	10,751,369	4.20
Wheat	4,543,159	1,867,048	5,807,822	3.11
Sorghum	4,259,683	1,350,509	3,553,671	2.63
Barley	3,630,719	799,128	2,071,807	2.59
Finger millet	1,571,961	366,301	942,147	2.57
Rice	224,328	91,122	280,633	3.08
Faba beans	4,309,978	520,552	1,091,609	2.10
Red haricot beans	2,630,568	240,842	412,593	1.71
Field peas	1,732,364	220,195	380,336	1.73
Neug	649,439	179,828	202,432	1.13
Sesame	295,113	204,512	137,807	0.67
Potatoes	1,127,267	78,479	1,309,567	16.69
Coffee	6,788,770	794,404	545,566	0.69
Chat	3,802,767	280,826	243,394	0.87
All grain crops	16,786,933	12,196,549	32,790,352	–

Source: ESS — Table 4 of the 2021/22 edition. Production converted from quintals and yields from quintals per hectare (own conversion, 1 quintal = 100 kg). Excludes Tigray, and the Benishangul-Gumuz estimates of 2020/21 were imputed. Holders growing several crops are counted under each crop.

Grain production of private peasant holdings by region, Meher season

Region	Area 2020/21 (ha)	Area 2021/22 (ha)	Production 2020/21 (t)	Production 2021/22 (t)	Change in production (%)
Oromia	5,944,475	6,100,988	16,935,698	17,554,271	3.7
Amhara	4,532,477	4,586,326	11,093,310	11,252,869	1.4
S.N.N.P.	1,077,135	1,102,915	2,892,613	2,917,225	0.9
Benishangul-Gumuz	255,590	255,590	709,777	709,777	0.0
Sidama	79,501	79,526	250,985	264,301	5.3
Somali	103,923	30,956	189,823	24,649	-87.0
Gambella	8,565	9,993	16,454	29,222	77.6
Harari	11,486	10,132	21,954	22,123	0.8
Dire Dawa	11,882	10,180	12,270	10,982	-10.5
Afar	8,744	9,943	7,361	4,933	-33.0
All regions (excluding Tigray)	12,033,779	12,196,549	32,130,245	32,790,352	2.1

Source: ESS — Table 3 of the 2021/22 edition, production converted from quintals (own conversion). Tigray is not covered. The Benishangul-Gumuz values for both years are the 2020/21 estimates. Oromia produced 53.5% and Amhara 34.3% of the 2021/22 total (own calculation).

Maize, wheat and sorghum production in FAOSTAT

Million tonnes, 2005–2024

Year	Maize (Mt)	Wheat (Mt)	Sorghum (Mt)
2005	3.91	2.18	1.72
2006	4.03	2.22	2.17
2007	4.28	2.54	2.39
2008	4.47	2.38	2.74
2009	4.8	3.17	3.06
2010	5.48	3.33	4
2011	5.75	3.09	4.23
2012	6.7	3.43	4.2
2013	7.11	3.93	3.83
2014	7.73	4.23	4.34
2015	8.21	4.65	4.77
2016	8.85	4.55	4.75
2017	10.49	4.89	5.17
2018	10.86	5.29	5.37
2019	11.56	5.52	5.46
2020	10.95	5.81	5.63
2021	11.74	6.23	4.82
2022	11.85	6.23	3.88
2023	11.51	6.09	4.01
2024	11.7	6.19	4.1

Source: FAOSTAT — FAOSTAT flags as estimated the maize values for 2007–2009, 2011, 2019–2020 and 2023–2024, the wheat values for 2007–2011, 2019–2020 and 2023–2024 and the sorghum values for 2007–2009, 2011–2013 and 2019–2020, and it flags the 2023 and 2024 sorghum values as figures from an external organization. FAOSTAT values are not directly comparable with the ESS Meher estimates for private peasant holdings.

ESS Meher crop survey editions used in this profile

Agricultural year	Edition (publication)	Coverage	Enumeration areas covered
2013/14	2013/14 report (May 2014)	Rural areas except non-sedentary population of 3 Afar and 6 Somali zones	2,226 of 2,250
2014/15	Prior-year column of the 2015/16 report	As above	–
2015/16	2015/16 report (May 2016)	As above	2,237 of 2,247
2016/17	2016/17 report (April 2017)	As above	2,223 of 2,247
2017/18	2017/18 report (April 2018)	As above	1,583 of 1,600
2018/19	2018/19 report (June 2019)	As above	1,473 of 1,600
2019/20	Prior-year column of the 2020/21 report	Entire rural parts of the country	–
2020/21	2020/21 report (April 2021)	Entire rural parts, 2019/20 estimates imputed for Tigray	–
2021/22	2021/22 report (April 2022)	Excludes Tigray, 2020/21 estimates imputed for Benishangul-Gumuz	2,052 of 2,609

Source: ESS — All editions cover private peasant holdings in the Meher season and no other season. The 2021/22 report revises 2020/21 grain output to 32.13 million tonnes, from 34.18 million tonnes in the 2020/21 report (own conversion). No Meher area and production report after 2021/22 was found on the ESS website¹⁴.

Holdings and use of the harvest

The 2021/22 land utilization survey counted 19.74 million holders operating 17.78 million hectares outside Tigray, an average of 0.90 hectares per holder¹⁵. Of these holders, 46.3% held 0.50 hectares or less and 68.8% held 1 hectare or less (own calculation)¹⁵. In the 2019/20 Meher season households consumed 74.4% of their maize and sold 13.3%, and sold 29.9% of their teff, 50.6% of their coffee and 71.6% of their sesame¹⁶.

Share of the harvest sold by private peasant holdings

% of Meher season production sold, 2019/20

	Sold (%)
Sesame	71.6
Chat	71.4
Coffee	50.6
Rice	38.2
Teff	29.9
Pulses (all)	27.3
Wheat	21.9
Barley	15.5
Sorghum	13.7
Maize	13.3

Source: ESS — Table 1 of the crop and livestock product utilization report. Household consumption took 74.4% of maize, 71.0% of sorghum, 57.5% of wheat and 53.5% of teff. Seed, wages in kind, animal feed and other uses make up the rest.

3.2

Coffee and other export crops

Private peasant holdings harvested 545,566 tonnes of coffee from 794,404 hectares in the 2021/22 Meher season, up from 392,006 tonnes in 2013/14 (own conversion)¹⁵. FAOSTAT places Ethiopia fifth among 78 coffee producers in 2024, with an imputed 575,696 tonnes of green coffee¹⁰.

Coffee export earnings were US$2,665.1 million in the fiscal year 2024/25, 86.3% more than the US$1,430.8 million of 2023/24, and the export volume rose to 470.7 thousand tonnes from 299.0 thousand tonnes². The NBE attributes the increase to a 57.4% higher volume and an 18.3% higher international price². Coffee accounted for 31.9% of merchandise export earnings in 2024/25, against 37.7% in 2023/24, and gold export earnings rose to US$3,480.9 million from US$408.6 million². Flowers earned US$489.7 million, oilseeds US$332.7 million, pulses US$273.7 million and chat US$121.5 million in 2024/25². Chat earnings were US$402.5 million in 2020/21¹⁷. Eight agricultural commodity groups together earned US$4,180.5 million, 50.1% of merchandise exports in 2024/25 and 76.9% in 2023/24 (own calculation)²¹⁸. These are national customs data compiled by the National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) and are recorded in US dollars.

Sesame production of private peasant holdings was 137,807 tonnes in the 2021/22 Meher season, against 260,258 tonnes in 2020/21 (own conversion)¹⁶.

Coffee harvested by private peasant holdings

Meher season survey, thousand tonnes, 2013/14–2021/22

Agricultural year	Coffee ('000 t)
2013/14	392
2014/15	420
2015/16	414.6
2016/17	469.1
2017/18	449.2
2018/19	494.6
2019/20	482.6
2020/21	584.8
2021/22	545.6

Source: ESS — Own conversion from quintals. The area under coffee rose from 538,467 hectares in 2013/14 to 794,404 hectares in 2021/22. The survey does not cover coffee from commercial estates. Editions and coverage breaks as in the grain production chart.

Coffee export volume

Thousand tonnes by Ethiopian fiscal year, 2011/12–2024/25

Fiscal year	Coffee exports ('000 t)
2011/12	169.4
2012/13	199.1
2013/14	189.7
2014/15	183.9
2015/16	198.7
2016/17	225.7
2017/18	238.6
2018/19	230.9
2019/20	271.1
2020/21	248.7
2021/22	303.2
2022/23	241.7
2023/24	299
2024/25	470.7

Source: NBE — NBE statistical tables on the quantity of major exports, in metric tons (Annual Report 2020/21, Table 9, for 2011/12–2018/19, and Annual Report 2024/25, Table 8, for 2019/20–2024/25). The two reports print identical values for the overlapping years.

Coffee export earnings

US$ million by Ethiopian fiscal year, 2014/15–2024/25

Fiscal year	Coffee (US$ m)
2014/15	780.5
2015/16	722.7
2016/17	883.2
2017/18	839
2018/19	764.1
2019/20	855.9
2020/21	909.4
2021/22	1,430.7
2022/23	1,340.2
2023/24	1,430.8
2024/25	2,665.1

Source: NBE — NBE Annual Reports, Table 5.3, compiled from Ethiopian Customs Commission data. Each year is taken from the latest report that prints it in a text layer²¹. The 2024/25 earnings were 86.3% above 2023/24, with volume up 57.4% and the international price up 18.3%².

Export earnings from agricultural commodities

US$ million by Ethiopian fiscal year, 2014/15–2024/25

Fiscal year	Coffee (US$ m)	Flowers (US$ m)	Oilseeds (US$ m)	Pulses (US$ m)	Chat (US$ m)	Meat and meat products (US$ m)	Live animals (US$ m)	Fruits and vegetables (US$ m)
2014/15	780.5	203.1	510.1	219.9	272.4	92.8	148.5	47.6
2015/16	722.7	225.3	477.2	232.4	262.5	96.4	147.8	53.7
2016/17	883.2	218.5	351	279.9	273	98.7	67.6	56.1
2017/18	839	228.6	423.5	269.5	263.2	101.7	61.1	61.4
2018/19	764.1	256.6	387.8	272.3	303.6	88.6	45.8	60.9
2019/20	855.9	422.3	345	234.8	324.4	67.4	54.1	58.8
2020/21	909.4	470.6	335.5	233.8	402.5	75.3	44.9	69.3
2021/22	1,430.7	541.6	265.7	218.9	391.6	109.6	29.2	87.8
2022/23	1,340.2	567.8	258	324.5	247.5	81.7	17.5	92.5
2023/24	1,430.8	469.9	333.2	343.8	164.5	70.4	43.5	65.1
2024/25	2,665.1	489.7	332.7	273.7	121.5	109.7	112.9	75.2

Source: NBE — NBE Annual Reports, Table 5.3. National customs data, not UN Comtrade. The eight commodities together earned US$4,180.5 million in 2024/25, 50.1% of total merchandise exports of US$8,347.2 million, against 76.9% in 2023/24 (own calculation). Gold, not shown, earned US$3,480.9 million in 2024/25.

Composition of merchandise export earnings

Share of total merchandise export earnings of US$8,347.2 million, 2024/25

50.1%

41.7%

Agricultural commodities · 50.1 %Gold · 41.7 %Electricity, textiles, leather and other items · 8.2 %

Source: NBE — Own calculation from Table 5.3. Agricultural commodities are coffee, flowers, oilseeds, pulses, chat, meat and meat products, live animals, and fruits and vegetables. Coffee alone took 31.9%.

Merchandise export earnings by commodity, 2022/23–2024/25

Commodity	2022/23 (US$ m)	2023/24 (US$ m)	2024/25 (US$ m)	Share of total 2024/25 (%)	Change 2024/25 (%, as printed by NBE)
Coffee	1,340.2	1,430.8	2,665.1	31.9	86.3
Flowers	567.8	469.9	489.7	5.9	4.2
Oilseeds	258.0	333.2	332.7	4.0	-0.1
Pulses	324.5	343.8	273.7	3.3	-20.4
Chat	247.5	164.5	121.5	1.5	-26.1
Live animals	17.5	43.5	112.9	1.4	159.8
Meat and meat products	81.7	70.4	109.7	1.3	55.7
Fruits and vegetables	92.5	65.1	75.2	0.9	15.6
Leather and leather products	24.7	19.9	17.4	0.2	-12.7
Gold	197.0	408.6	3,480.9	41.7	752.0
Electricity	102.2	139.0	336.4	4.0	142.1
Textiles and other items	370.7	310.0	331.9	4.0	–
Total	3,624.3	3,798.7	8,347.2	100.0	119.7

Source: NBE — NBE Annual Report 2024/25, Table 5.3, compiled from Ethiopian Customs Commission, NBE and Ethiopian Electric Power data. The row for textiles and other items is the sum of textiles and textile products and others (own calculation). Shares and changes are as printed by NBE.

Export volumes and unit values of agricultural commodities

Commodity	Volume 2023/24 ('000 t)	Volume 2024/25 ('000 t)	Unit value 2023/24 (US$/kg)	Unit value 2024/25 (US$/kg)
Coffee	299.0	470.7	4.8	5.7
Oilseeds	191.2	207.6	1.7	1.6
Pulses	426.0	320.9	0.8	0.9
Flowers	95.4	99.7	4.9	4.9
Fruits and vegetables	184.8	186.1	0.4	0.4
Meat and meat products	11.1	18.5	6.4	5.9
Live animals	52.0	123.5	0.8	0.9
Chat	15.8	10.8	10.4	11.2

Source: NBE — NBE Annual Report 2024/25, Tables 5.4 (million kg, shown here as thousand tonnes) and 5.5. Unit values as rounded by the NBE.

3.3

Livestock, dairy and honey

The 2021/22 livestock survey counted 66.26 million cattle, 45.72 million goats, 38.01 million sheep, 41.35 million poultry, 10.02 million donkeys and 6.98 million camels on private peasant holdings in sedentary and pastoral areas outside Tigray³. For four zones of Amhara, two zones of Benishangul-Gumuz and three zones of Afar the survey used the previous year's (2013 E.C.) data³. Local breeds made up 96.76% of the cattle, hybrid breeds 2.71% and exotic breeds 0.41%³. The survey counted 55.03 million cattle in 2013/14, when the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones was not covered²². FAOSTAT places Ethiopia fourth among 190 countries by cattle numbers in 2024, on an imputed value of 71.9 million head¹⁰.

Cow milk production was 3,866 million litres in 2021/22, with an average yield of 1.45 litres per cow per day over a six-month lactation, and camel milk production was 1,401 million litres³. The survey counted 5.98 million beehives and 52.0 thousand tonnes of honey in 2021/22³.

Cattle, sheep and goats kept by private peasant holdings

Million head, ESS livestock survey editions, 2013/14–2021/22

Survey year	Cattle (million)	Goats (million)	Sheep (million)
2013/14	55.03	28.16	27.35
2014/15	56.71	29.11	29.33
2015/16	57.83	29.7	28.89
2016/17	59.49	30.2	30.7
2017/18	60.39	32.74	31.3
2020/21	70.29	52.46	42.91
2021/22	66.26	45.72	38.01

Source: ESS — Table 3-1 of each edition. Until 2017/18 the surveys excluded the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones. The 2020/21 survey covered the entire rural agricultural population, with 2019/20 data used for Tigray, and the 2021/22 survey excludes Tigray. The 2018/19 and 2019/20 reports were not found on the ESS website.

Cattle, sheep and goats in FAOSTAT

Million head, 2010–2024

Year	Cattle (million)	Goats (million)	Sheep (million)
2010	53.38	22.79	25.51
2011	52.13	22.61	24.22
2012	53.99	24.06	25.49
2013	55.03	28.16	27.35
2014	56.71	29.11	29.33
2015	57.83	29.7	28.89
2016	59.49	30.2	30.7
2017	60.39	32.74	31.3
2018	61.51	38.96	33.02
2019	65.35	50.5	39.89
2020	70.29	52.46	42.91
2021	68.08	49.31	40.66
2022	66.26	45.72	38.01
2023	69.32	42.77	37.23
2024	71.92	53.98	41.05

Source: FAOSTAT — FAOSTAT flags the 2021, 2023 and 2024 values as imputed. The FAOSTAT cattle values for 2014–2017, 2020 and 2022 equal the counts of the ESS livestock surveys for 2014/15–2017/18, 2020/21 and 2021/22 (for example 66,260,987 cattle for 2022)³²⁷.

Cow and camel milk production in FAOSTAT

Thousand tonnes, 2010–2024

Year	Raw milk of cattle ('000 t)	Raw milk of camel ('000 t)
2010	4,058	262.8
2011	3,329.9	176.4
2012	3,805	165.1
2013	3,500	158.8
2014	3,339.2	166.2
2015	3,200.3	254.1
2016	3,134.2	179.7
2017	3,317.8	327.6
2018	3,284.5	282.2
2019	3,895.3	182
2020	3,438.3	243.4
2021	3,439.7	235.9
2022	3,866.1	220.4
2023	3,442.5	233.3
2024	3,443.9	229.9

Source: FAOSTAT — FAOSTAT flags cow milk as estimated in 2013 and imputed in 2020, 2021, 2023 and 2024, and camel milk as imputed in 2013–2014 and estimated in 2021–2024. The ESS livestock survey estimated cow milk at 3,866 million litres and camel milk at 1,401 million litres for 2021/22, on a net production basis³.

2^nd

Faba beans (dry)

1.16 Mt world production rank, 2024, after mainland China (FAOSTAT imputed value)¹⁰

4^th

Cattle

71.9 million world rank by number, 2024 (FAOSTAT imputed value)¹⁰

4^th

Natural honey

85,960 t world production rank, 2024 (FAOSTAT imputed value)¹⁰

5^th

Green coffee

575,696 t world production rank, 2024, 5.2% of world output (FAOSTAT imputed value)¹⁰

Livestock kept by private peasant holdings, ESS surveys and FAOSTAT

Species	ESS 2016/17	ESS 2017/18	ESS 2020/21	ESS 2021/22	FAOSTAT 2024
Cattle	59,486,667	60,392,019	70,291,776	66,260,987	71,916,930 (I)
Goats	30,200,226	32,738,385	52,463,535	45,716,091	53,982,678 (I)
Sheep	30,697,942	31,302,257	42,914,865	38,013,272	41,050,910 (I)
Poultry	59,495,026	56,056,778	56,992,987	41,350,684	52,280,000 chickens (I)
Donkeys	8,439,220	8,845,589	10,791,896	10,020,518	10,803,079 (I)
Camels	1,209,321	1,418,457	8,145,790	6,978,053	1,656,499 (E)
Horses	2,158,176	2,007,829	2,148,492	2,138,928	2,293,260 (I)
Mules	409,877	461,665	382,784	357,743	391,103 (I)
Beehives	6,189,329	6,523,969	6,986,100	5,982,336	–

Source: ESS · FAOSTAT — ESS Table 3-1 of each edition. The 2016/17 and 2017/18 surveys excluded the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones, the 2020/21 survey covered the entire rural agricultural population with 2019/20 data used for Tigray, and the 2021/22 survey excludes Tigray. FAOSTAT flags in brackets, I imputed, E estimated. The FAOSTAT camel values differ from the ESS counts.

Milk and honey production of private peasant holdings

Item	2016/17	2017/18	2021/22
Cow milk (million litres)	3,134.2	3,317.8	3,866.1
Cow milk per cow per day (litres)	1.37	1.37	1.45
Camel milk (million litres)	179.7	327.6	1,401.2
Goat milk (million litres)	–	–	379.4
Honey (thousand tonnes)	47.7	66.2	52.0
Beehives (million)	6.19	6.52	5.98

Source: ESS — Summary Table III.8 of each edition, net milk production (milk sucked by young animals excluded). The 2016/17 and 2017/18 surveys excluded the non-sedentary population of three Afar and six Somali zones and their milk estimates refer to sedentary areas, while the 2021/22 survey covered sedentary and pastoral areas outside Tigray. The 2020/21 edition is not shown because its summary table and text give different cow milk totals.

Ethiopia in world agricultural production, 2024

Product	Production or stock	World rank	Share of world (%)	FAOSTAT flag
Asses (donkeys)	10.80 million head	1 of 104	20.1	Imputed
Broad beans and horse beans, dry	1,156,009 t	2 of 64	18.5	Imputed
Beeswax	5,934 t	2 of 43	9.2	Estimated
Cattle	71.92 million head	4 of 190	4.6	Imputed
Natural honey	85,960 t	4 of 121	4.7	Imputed
Chick peas, dry	443,954 t	4 of 47	2.6	Imputed
Green coffee	575,696 t	5 of 78	5.2	Imputed
Goats	53.98 million head	5 of 181	4.5	Imputed
Sesame seed	435,455 t	6 of 69	6.5	Imputed
Sorghum	4,100,000 t	6 of 107	6.4	External organization
Maize	11,701,131 t	13 of 162	1.0	Estimated
Wheat	6,185,341 t	24 of 122	0.8	Estimated

Source: FAOSTAT — Own ranking from the FAOSTAT bulk file of 23 December 2025, counting the countries with a value above zero and excluding regional aggregates. Every value in this table is imputed, estimated or taken from an external organization rather than an official figure, so the ranks are indicative.

3.4

Trade

The map shows where Ethiopia's agri-food products go and where they come from. On UN Comtrade data reported by Ethiopia for 2023, the latest year Ethiopia had reported by October 2026, agri-food exports (HS chapters 01–24) were US$2,567.7 million and imports US$2,379.6 million²⁸. Saudi Arabia was the largest buyer, at US$297.7 million, of which US$239.6 million was coffee, tea and spices (HS 09), followed by the Netherlands (US$214.4 million, of which US$194.5 million live plants and cut flowers), the United States (US$203.3 million) and the United Arab Emirates (US$161.0 million)²⁸. Coffee, tea and spices made up 48.1% of agri-food exports, vegetables including dried pulses (HS 07) 19.5% and oilseeds (HS 12) 16.5% (own calculation)²⁸. Members of the European Union took 21.1% of exports and members of the Gulf Cooperation Council 18.8% (own calculation)²⁸.

India (US$485.5 million), the United States (US$453.7 million) and Türkiye (US$297.9 million) were the largest suppliers in 2023²⁸. Animal and vegetable fats and oils (HS 15, US$749.6 million) and cereals (HS 10, US$576.0 million) made up 55.7% of agri-food imports (own calculation), and Ethiopia recorded US$193.5 million of fats and oils imports from Djibouti²⁸. The NBE export figures by fiscal year shown above and these Comtrade data differ in period and product coverage, and the two series are not combined. Agri-food imports reported to Comtrade were US$4,323.0 million in 2021 and US$2,379.6 million in 2023, and cereal imports US$1,683.1 million and US$576.0 million in the same years²⁹.

Agri-food trade partners, 2023

Exports and imports of HS chapters 01–24 by partner country, US$ million (UN Comtrade, as reported by Ethiopia)

Source: UN Comtrade — HS chapters 01–24 (live animals to tobacco). Partner values are as reported by Ethiopia for 2023, the latest full year Ethiopia had reported to UN Comtrade by October 2026. Small territories without a shape on the 1:110m world map appear only in the ranked list.

Where agri-food exports go

Share of agri-food exports (HS 01–24), 2023

21.1%

18.8%

12.3%

47.8%

European Union · 21.1 %Gulf Cooperation Council · 18.8 %IGAD members · 12.3 %Rest of the world · 47.8 %

Source: UN Comtrade — Own calculation from UN Comtrade partner data reported by Ethiopia. GCC members are Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain. IGAD members other than Ethiopia are Djibouti, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.

Agri-food exports by product group

Largest HS chapters, US$ million, 2023 (UN Comtrade, as reported by Ethiopia)

	Exports (US$ m)
Coffee, tea & spices (09)	1,235.2
Vegetables (07)	499.5
Oilseeds (12)	424.5
Live plants & flowers (06)	262.1
Meat (02)	63
Cereal, flour & bakery products (19)	23.9
Live animals (01)	17.6
Fruit & nuts (08)	15.2

Source: UN Comtrade — Own sums of partner values by HS chapter. Total agri-food exports (HS 01–24) were US$2,567.7 million. Chapter 07 includes dried pulses.

Agri-food imports by product group

Largest HS chapters, US$ million, 2023 (UN Comtrade, as reported by Ethiopia)

	Imports (US$ m)
Fats & oils (15)	749.6
Cereals (10)	576
Sugar & confectionery (17)	286.9
Vegetables (07)	176.1
Miscellaneous food preparations (21)	157.3
Milling products (11)	139.6
Cereal, flour & bakery products (19)	102.8

Source: UN Comtrade — Own sums of partner values by HS chapter. Total agri-food imports (HS 01–24) were US$2,379.6 million.

Agri-food exports and imports

HS chapters 01–24, US$ million, 2013–2023 (UN Comtrade, as reported by Ethiopia)

Year	Exports (US$ m)	Imports (US$ m)
2013	1,369.2	1,507.8
2014	1,764.9	1,492.1
2015	1,491.2	1,725.2
2016	1,528.3	2,281.7
2017	1,683.9	1,948.9
2018	1,165.9	2,258.4
2019	2,200.4	1,902.2
2020	2,191.5	2,605.9
2021	2,749.9	4,323
2022	2,775.8	3,956.3
2023	2,567.7	2,379.6

Source: UN Comtrade — Own sums of chapters 01–24 for the world partner. Ethiopia reported in HS 2007 for 2013, HS 2012 for 2014–2018, HS 2017 for 2019–2021 and HS 2022 for 2022–2023. Reported exports of live plants and cut flowers (HS 06) were US$4.7–10.1 million a year in 2013–2018 and US$217.3–290.2 million in 2019–2023, a break in the reported series.

Selected agri-food trade flows

US$ million, 2013–2023 (UN Comtrade, as reported by Ethiopia)

Year	Exports of coffee, tea & spices (09) (US$ m)	Exports of oilseeds (12) (US$ m)	Imports of cereals (10) (US$ m)	Imports of fats & oils (15) (US$ m)
2013	493.8	475.2	625.6	396.6
2014	683.2	642.1	503.3	450.9
2015	677.8	433.8	641.5	498
2016	643.7	486.7	1,003.3	518.4
2017	808	433.1	705.5	559.1
2018	391.2	328	788.1	608.7
2019	814.1	420.3	778.4	431.2
2020	814.2	440.6	861.1	896.3
2021	1,209.5	407.2	1,683.1	1,397.6
2022	1,525.4	284.5	1,345.9	1,421.3
2023	1,235.2	424.5	576	749.6

Source: UN Comtrade — World partner, as reported by Ethiopia. The Comtrade figures are on Ethiopia's reporting year and differ from the NBE export earnings by fiscal year.

Largest buyers of Ethiopian agri-food products

Exports of HS chapters 01–24 by partner, US$ million, 2023

	Exports (US$ m)
Saudi Arabia	297.7
Netherlands	214.4
United States	203.3
United Arab Emirates	161
Somalia	141.3
India	125.7
Germany	123.1
South Korea	113.9
Israel	103.8
Japan	103.8

Source: UN Comtrade — Partner values as reported by Ethiopia. Coffee, tea and spices accounted for US$239.6 million of exports to Saudi Arabia and live plants and cut flowers for US$194.5 million of exports to the Netherlands.

Largest agri-food trade partners, 2023

Rank	Export partner	Exports (US$ m)	Import partner	Imports (US$ m)
1	Saudi Arabia	297.7	India	485.5
2	Netherlands	214.4	United States	453.7
3	United States	203.3	Türkiye	297.9
4	United Arab Emirates	161.0	Djibouti	193.5
5	Somalia	141.3	Malaysia	187.0
6	India	125.7	Indonesia	114.5
7	Germany	123.1	Ukraine	80.2
8	South Korea	113.9	United Arab Emirates	76.3
9	Israel	103.8	France	68.1
10	Japan	103.8	Egypt	61.0
	Total, HS 01–24	2,567.7	Total, HS 01–24	2,379.6

Source: UN Comtrade — UN Comtrade annual data for 2023 as reported by Ethiopia, the latest year available in October 2026. Partner values are own sums of HS chapters 01–24.

3.5

Prices

Annual average inflation was 16.0% in the fiscal year 2024/25, with food and non-alcoholic beverages at 16.2%, against 28.1% for food in 2023/24 and 40.3% in 2021/22². The ESS reports annual average inflation of 11.7% and food inflation of 12.0% for the fiscal year that ended in June 2026, labelled EFY2018³⁰.

Year-on-year food inflation was 9.8% in December 2025, 15.7% in July 2026 and 14.8% in September 2026, when general inflation was 14.9%⁴. General inflation had been 15.3% in July 2026 and 15.1% in August 2026³¹³². In September 2026 the price index for bread and cereals, which carries a weight of 17.1% in the consumer price basket, was 8.6% higher than a year earlier, vegetables 11.4%, meat 22.0% and sugar, jam, honey and chocolate 39.8%⁴. No official producer or retail price series for crops was found on the ESS website³³.

Annual average consumer price inflation

General, food and non-food, % by Ethiopian fiscal year, 2017/18–2025/26

Fiscal year	General (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Non-food (%)
2017/18	14.4	13.4	15.9
2018/19	12.6	13.1	11.9
2019/20	19.9	23.3	15.9
2020/21	20.2	23.2	16.4
2021/22	33.8	40.3	25.2
2022/23	32.5	31.7	33.9
2023/24	26.6	28.1	24.3
2024/25	16	16.2	15.8
2025/26	11.7	12	11.3

Source: ESS · NBE — ESS labels these periods July EFY2009 – June EFY2010 to July EFY2017 – June EFY2018. The NBE Annual Report 2024/25 prints the same rates for 2018/19 to 2024/25 under the Ethiopian-calendar labels 2011 to 2017, which gives the Gregorian fiscal-year labels used here (for example 33.79% general inflation for 2021/22). The exception is 2022/23, for which the NBE prints 32.55% general inflation (32.6% rounded) against 32.5% in the ESS release.

Monthly consumer price inflation

Year-on-year change, general, food and non-food, %, September 2025 – September 2026

Month	General (%)	Food and non-alcoholic beverages (%)	Non-food (%)
Sep 2025	13.2	12.1	14.8
Oct 2025	11.7	10.2	14.2
Nov 2025	10.9	10.6	11.4
Dec 2025	9.7	9.8	9.6
Jan 2026	9.8	10.4	9
Feb 2026	9.7	10.8	8.1
Mar 2026	9.4	11	7
Apr 2026	11.7	13.5	9.1
May 2026	13.4	15	11.1
Jun 2026	13.9	15.1	12.2
Jul 2026	15.3	15.7	14.8
Aug 2026	15.1	14.9	15.4
Sep 2026	14.9	14.8	15.1

Source: ESS — ESS bulletin for September EFY2019, Table 1. The bulletin labels the months September EFY2018 to September EFY2019, and the ESS download page titles the release Consumer Price Index, September 2026, which gives the Gregorian labels.

Food price inflation by item group

Year-on-year change, %, September 2026

	Year-on-year change (%)
Sugar, jam, honey and chocolate	39.8
Non-alcoholic beverages	26.4
Meat	22
Other food products	19.1
Fruit	18.5
Oils and fats	18.2
Milk, cheese and eggs	17.7
Vegetables	11.4
Bread and cereals	8.6

Source: ESS — Food and non-alcoholic beverages inflation was 14.8%. Bread and cereals carry a weight of 17.1% in the CPI basket and vegetables 12.3%.

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ⓘ

AI-assisted content, human-reviewed: This page was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and reviewed by a human editor. (last review: October 2026) Despite review, errors or outdated values may remain; please verify critical figures against the linked primary sources before relying on them. Nothing here is investment, legal or financial advice.

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