Ethiopia’s export revenue from textile products has witnessed augmentation during the Growth and Transformation Plan period, but with lower pace, the Textiles Industry Development Institute (TIDI) said.

The country's revenue from textile export which was 62.2 million USD in 2003E.C has reached 111 million USD last fiscal year.

In spite of yearly growth, the revenue earning from the textile sector is very small compared to the target. In fact, the sector has not met the target through the GTP period, while presenting the 2006 fiscal year performance in a consultative meeting held Wednesday.

The revenue earned from the sector during last fiscal year has declined from the target by more than two-third. The target was to earn 350 million USD.

Garment, yarn and fabrics are the top in generating the stated amount of revenue. Germany, Turkey and China are the leading destinations for Ethiopian textiles products.

The Institute expressed firmness to address the challenges, has set target to earn 435 million USD from export of textiles and apparel this fiscal year.

Currently, cotton is being cultivated on more than 125,000 hectares of land. Increasing plot of land used to cultivate cotton is another area the country is working to address this challenge and meet the increasing demand.

Strengthening capacity of industries and addressing shortage of raw material are among the priorities to be carried out this year.