Ethiopia is losing more than 90 million dollars annually because of the exports of rough gemstones, it was learnt.
At a two-day consultative meeting on the mining sector held on October 7 and 8 jointly by the World Bank and the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines (MoM) at Addis Ababa Hilton, gemstone manufacturers and exporters told participants that the country is losing a huge amount of foreign currency and jobs due to failure to process (curve and polish) gemstones.
Tewodros Sintayehu, managing director of Orbit Ethiopia PLC, said that instead of exporting processed gemstones the country is supplying rough gemstones to the international market. Tewodros said in 2012 Ethiopia exported 16,500 kg of gemstones, mainly opal, and earned only seven million dollars. “Had this been processed we could have earned more than 100 million dollars and created more than 1000 jobs for Ethiopian citizens,” Tewodros said.
According to Tewodros, due to the country’s failure to process and export the gemstones it is losing jobs to India, China and other countries. He said that due attention is not given to the gemstone production and export sector. “The sector should be recognized and supported by the government. It should be administered under the Ministry of Industry as it is a manufacturing work. A committee should be established that would undertake a study on the potential of the sector and how it can be supported. The members could be drawn from the Ministry of Mines, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Industry, the Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. A gemstone cutting and polishing industry should be established. The government should recognize it as a new industry and provide the required support to the industry,” he said. Tewodros said that the sector should be given protection and support, financing and industry zone.
Nature has endowed Ethiopia with more than 20 precious stones. Ethiopia exports mainly opal to India, Europe and the US. Ethiopian opal is now dominating the international market. Previously, Australia was known for high grade opal. Now it seems that Ethiopian opal is more popular than the Australian opal. There are four types of opal found in Ethiopia. Most of the opal is coming from North Wello, Amhara Regional State.
Tamrat Modjo, artisanal mining and transaction coordinating director with the Ministry of Mines, said that the sector was not ignored. Tamrat said the Ministry of Mines was closely working with gemstone producers in different regions. “We are providing support to the artisanal miners and gemstone manufacturers. Three years ago we imposed a ban on rough gemstone exports. There are no adequate gemstone processors in the country. So the artisanal miners were unable to sell their rough gemstones. This caused serious social and economic problems. More than 50,000 artisanal miners especially in the North Wello region faced a serious financial problem. Then we were forced to lift the ban. Now we are trying to bring in foreign investors who can engage in processing gemstones here in Ethiopia,” Tamrat said.
He added that the ministry was looking at the opportunity that artisanal miners could acquire mining equipment through lease finance scheme. According to him, in the 2013-2014 fiscal year the country exported 25,000 kg of gemstones valued at 16 million dollars.
An expert from the Ministry of Mines said that there were no trained professionals in the sector. “We do not have gemology education in the country. We do not have a gemology laboratory. The government should give due attention to the sector like it does to the flower and manufacturing industries,” the expert said.
The Ethiopian artisanal mining industry employs more than one million people. The major types of gemstones found in Ethiopia include garnets, emeralds, rubies, and opals. Opal accounts for nearly 98 percent of the precious stone exports of the country. According to the World Bank, the artisanal and small-scale mining sector’s size and characteristics is poorly understood. Border dispute with mining companies, poor safety awareness and impacts on the environment were some of the concerns in the artisanal mining sector.
[TheReporterEthiopia]