Ethiopia has established five gold trading centers as it seeks to boost its export income from the mining sector.

Speaking to Xinhua on Tuesday, Kiros Alemayehu, Public Relations Senior Expert at the Ethiopian Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas (EMPNG), said the establishment of the centers will help cut inefficient bureaucracy in gold trading.

The ministry also hopes the establishment of gold trading centers will cut contraband gold trading which Ethiopia says has contributed to decline in exports in recent years.

The gold trading centers were established in Oromia, Southern, Tigray, Benishangul Gumuz and Gambella regional states.

"With the establishment of the five gold trading centers, we hope Ethiopia's minerals export revenue target of 450 million U.S. dollars will be met in 2017/18 Fiscal Year (EFY) " said Alemayehu.

Ethiopia's minerals exports during the 2016/17 Ethiopian Fiscal Year that ended July 9 stood at 231.25 million dollars with the majority coming from gold exports.

(Xinhua News Agency, September 5, 2017)