EBMIA - Ethiopian Beverages Manufacturing Industries Association Agrofood & plastprintpack Ethiopia 2024.

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AquaAddis, one of the pioneer bottled water brands, has abruptly suspended operations at its Burayu plant following a contentious dispute with regional tax authorities over millions of Birr in alleged unpaid land lease fees. The closure has left hundreds of employees in uncertain fate.

The plant, owned by Asku Plc, has been a prominent player in the water bottling industry for over two decades. Located in Burayu, a town on the outskirts of Addis Abeba, the facility spans approximately 62,000Sqm and boasts a daily production capacity of 85,000 bottle packs. Trouble began when Burayu authorities implemented a new land policy requiring all plots, existing and newly held, to be leased. The policy shift has caused confusion and concern among property owners, many of whom were unprepared for the sudden financial demands.

Pleas to remove water from list of excisable commodities were denied

The “unreasonably high” excise duty imposed on packaged water is hindering bottlers from accessing the international market.The high production costs that water bottlers incur as a result of rising input costs and high taxes have a negative effect on their capacity to compete. Industry players see Djibouti and Somalia as potential export markets, but they have been unable to compete in these countries due to rising production costs.

የታሸጉ ውሃ አምራቾች ሲጠቀሙበት የነበረውን የውሃ ማሸጊያ ፕላስቲክ ጠርሙስ ማቅለሚያ (ማስተርባችን) በማስቀረቱ አምራቾቹ ወደ ሃገር ውስጥ ለማስገባት ሲጠቀሙበት የነበረውን በአመት ውስጥ እስከ 50 ሚሊዮን ዶላር የሚደርስ ወጪን እንደሚያስቀር ይፋ አደረገ፡፡