Ethiopia targets global banana exports with quality push, financial investment
Currently, exports are limited to neighbouring regions, but a ten-year strategy aims to resolve logistical and technical constraints to expand their global footprint.
ETHIOPIA – The Ethiopian government has been actively striving to transition its banana sector from a high-volume local industry into a global export powerhouse, with the Ministry of Agriculture convening a National Banana Conference in Addis Ababa on August 20, 2026, to address quality, productivity, finance, and market access.
Agricultural Investment and Input Supply Development Sector State Minister Sofia Kassa opened the conference by acknowledging the sector’s core problem. “Massive production, but quality is one of the main challenges to penetrate the world market,” she said.
Additionally, Kassa called for stronger efforts to produce export-quality bananas and expand market reach beyond existing destinations such as Djibouti and Somalia.
Kassa pointed to Ethiopia’s experience in flowers and vegetables as a model, where cooperation among government, producers, and the private sector has built production capacity, logistics, and international market connections. She reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to supporting the industry through the 10-year National Horticulture Strategy and other policy and financing initiatives.
Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association Executive Director Tewodros Zewdie said the sector could generate hundreds of millions, and potentially billions, of dollars from fresh and processed banana products if key constraints are resolved. “Banana is a multi-billion-dollar commodity industry globally. We have not benefited in a meaningful manner when we draw comparison with the potential of our country,” Tewodros said.
Tewodros identified certified planting materials, virus-free banana plantlets, tissue-culture and nursery systems, capacity building, and coordination among value-chain actors as priorities. “Finance is the biggest elephant in the banana industry,” he said, calling for greater support from financial institutions.
The specific technological and financial solutions needed for this transformation include tissue-culture and nursery systems for virus-free plantlets, certified planting materials, greater access to finance from financial institutions, capacity building and training programmes, and enhanced coordination among value-chain actors.
The conference, organized by EHPEA under the theme “From Bunch to Breakthrough: Positioning Ethiopia as a Global Banana Export Powerhouse,” brings together government institutions, producers, exporters, researchers, financiers, and development partners to discuss how to unlock Ethiopia’s banana export potential.
Currently, exports are limited to neighbouring regions, but a ten-year strategy aims to resolve logistical and technical constraints to expand their global footprint.
Finally, officials believe that improved quality standards and phytosanitary compliance are essential to reaching international markets. Thus, the Ministry of Agriculture is prioritizing investment, certified planting materials, and stronger public-private cooperation.
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