Ethiopia, one of the world's poorest countries, said Wednesday it would come out of poverty if it maintains an annual economic growth of 7 percent, seen in the past three years, for the next 20 years.

"For the first time, Ethiopia's economy has shown an average of seven percent growth over the last three years," said Sufian Ahmed, minister of finance and economic development.

"If the trend continues for the next 20 years, Ethiopia would come out of poverty and be among middle-income nations," Sufian told journalists.

Ethiopia is an overwhelmingly agricultural country, with farm products accounting for over half of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) and 90 percent of its exports. It is one of the largest coffee producers in Africa.

"The agriculture sector registered a 17.3 percent growth in 2004, while surveys indicate that the sector will register 12.2 percent and 10.5 percent growth in 2005 and 2006, respectively," he said.

Due to the increasing coffee prices in the world market, the country earned 340 million U.S. dollars from 140,000 tons of coffee exports in the 2004/05 season, said the minister.

He also said the country garnered more than 112 million dollars from the export of oil seeds from July last year to January 2006, adding that the country exported 193,000 tons of sugar to Europe last year, gaining 108.7 million dollars.

Floricultural sector is also a thriving part of Ethiopia's export trade and expected to reach 100 million dollars this year, he added.

Source: Xinhua