Over 131 million U.S. dollars have been secured from the export of coffee, tea, spices and cotton during the past eight months since July last year, Ethiopia 's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said on Saturday.

Berhanu Gezahegn, senior official with the ministry, told journalists that about 62,440 tons of products were exported to foreign countries during the reported period.

Most of the products were exported to Germany, Japan, America, France, Belgium, Britain, Pakistan and Djibouti, said Berhanu.

He said nearly 11 million dollars were secured from the export of spices to Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Djibouti, Kuwait, Sudan and Germany while cotton was sent to China, Switzerland and Djibouti.

The income secured during the past months exceeded by 7.58 million dollars that of the income secured in the previous fiscal year (July 2004-June 2005), according to Berhanu.

He said the increase was due to the improved quality of produces.

Accounting for over 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), 80 percent of exports, and 80 percent of the labor force, agriculture remained the country's most important economic sector.

Ethiopia has great agricultural potential because of its vast areas of fertile land, diverse climate, and a large labor pool. Despite this potential, however, Ethiopian agriculture has remained underdeveloped.

Source: Xinhua