Assessment of export performance of fruit and vegetables in Ethiopia

Ethiopia has a good potential for the production and export of high-valued fruits and vegetables that can be competitive in the international market with additional advantage in locational proximity to the markets. Yet the country has been generating consistently a low export earnings from the export of goods and services. The Government has been putting enormous efforts in the past few years to enhance the gains from exporting high valued fruits and vegetables. In line with this, the main objective of the study was to assess fruit and vegetable export performance in Ethiopia with specific objectives to analyze the status of fruits and vegetables export, assessing the relationship between export marketing strategy, firm characteristics and management attitude on export performance and finally finding out the major determinants in the export performance of fruits and vegetables. The study incorporated a census survey of legally registered 3 fruits and 11 vegetables exporters in Ethiopia. In addition, data collection was conducted through questionnaires for fruits and vegetables exporters and semi structured interviews for Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency (EHDA).