By Katie Nguyen
ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia foresees export earnings rising by at least a third in 2007/08 to between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion, boosted by bigger volumes of coffee, flowers and pulses, Trade Minister Girma Birru said on Tuesday.
"Our exports were about $1.2 billion for the fiscal year 2006/07," Girma told Reuters in an interview.
"For the coming year we are expecting exports in the range of $1.6 billion to $1.8 billion."
Girma said Ethiopia has enjoyed 25 percent growth in its mainly agriculture exports annually over the past four years, while imports rose by 15-17 percent a year in the same period.
Germany was the biggest importer of Ethiopian goods, accounting for 13 percent of last year's total exports. China, India and Pakistan were also buying more Ethiopian products.
Coffee remains the top export in Africa's biggest coffee-grower -- and birthplace of the bean -- followed by sesame seeds and flowers. However, Girma predicted that horticulture exports would overtake coffee in under five years.
He said within three years 3,000 hectares of land would be under greenhouse compared to 850 hectares today.
"By the time we have all the 3,000 hectares of open and greenhouse flowers then for sure our earnings from flowers will be greater than what we can earn today from coffee."
Investment has blossomed in the sector with incentives such as tax holidays of between two and seven years, 35-year leases, and relatively low rates for renting land.
Girma said investors pay less than $20 per hectare per year in rural areas and $1 per square metre in urban centres.
Ethiopia exported 5-6 tonnes of gold in 2006/07, earning the country $100 million.
Girma expected gold exports to rise by 1.0 tonne next year and hoped some 10,000 tonnes of gold found in southern Ethiopia would be extracted over the next 3-4 years.
Ethiopia has hydropower potential of between 50-60 megawatts and plans to start exporting electricity to neighbours Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan from 2009 -- earning up to $400 million a year in revenues, Girma said.
The Horn of Africa country has made some small progress in its bid to join the 150-member World Trade Organisation.
So far Ethiopia, which applied for WTO membership in 2003, has submitted details of its trade regime and received more than 200 questions from the United States and Canada.
Girma said Ethiopia's response was being finalised and would be sent in the next two months.
Economists say Ethiopia's main worry is how to overcome WTO's rule that member states open up foreign investment in the financial sector.
The country currently closes the door to foreign investment in banking and controls telecommunications.
Girma said any future WTO membership was unlikely to have a major impact on Ethiopia's access to global markets.
Under its least developed country status, Ethiopia benefits from preferential trade agreements with the United States and Europe. Being a member of the WTO would, however, spur it to increase export production, he said.
