Image of Djibouti sea port, a tiny Red Sea state which has been the main gateway for Ethiopian imports and exports.
http://wardheernews.com/articles_08/August/Roob_Doon/Djibout_Port1.jpg

No, Kenya is not Ethiopia's number one trade country.

Ethiopia's largest trading partner in the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) is the nation of Djibouti, a neighboring country in the north through which Ethiopia must conduct all of its importing and exporting since the country is landlocked and thus lacks a port of its own in the Red Sea or the Indic Ocean. Djibouti is Ethiopia's number-one regional importer, while Kenya is fourth.

The Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway is the predominant rail link between both countries. The Chemin de Fer Djibouti-Ethiopien (CDE) manages the rail operations and is jointly owned by both Djibouti and Ethiopia.

Ethiopia's major imports include petroleum and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery, civil and military aircraft, transport and industrial capital goods, agricultural machinery and equipment, motor cars and motor vehicles.

Ethiopia's imports have followed the same pattern as its exports in the 1990s, with the percentage of imports from the countries of the European Union and the United States steadily increasing.

Ethiopian principal COMESA Imports during 2006:

Partners.........Value in US$.............%

Djibouti...........173.605.184...........44.38
Sudan...............74.705.587...........19.10
Egypt................63.318.575............16.19
Kenya...............62.772.825............16.05

According to "www.ena.gov.et":

----Quote---
The amount of goods Ethiopia imports via the Port of Djibouti has increased by 20 per cent due to the economic development registered during the past consecutive years ...The amount of relief grains, which Ethiopia used to import earlier, has decreased while construction materials and goods related to investment flow and infrastructure development significantly increased at present ...Ethiopia uses 90 per cent of Djibouti's port services.
----/Quote---

http://www.ethioplanet.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/ep-ethiopian_coffee_-243x300.jpg
Source(s):
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Africa/Ethiopia-INTERNATIONAL-...

http://about.comesa.int/attachments/027_Ethiopia_country_profile.pdf

http://www.ena.gov.et/EnglishNews/2008/Mar/05Mar08/51966.htm

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