On 17 May 2019 fashion trade site MDS summarized New York University research showing Ethiopian garment wages around $26 a month, far below Bangladesh, while clothing had become a rising export after coffee, oilseeds, and flowers.
Asian manufacturers and Western brands such as H&M and PVH had entered parks like Hawassa, and the Ethiopian government talked about dozens more parks by 2025. Authors warned of social tension if wages stayed below living costs, and of weak local value chains because factories still imported much fabric even though Ethiopia grows cotton.
The report urged a long-term industrial plan, a real minimum wage, better infrastructure, worker housing, training, and factory-level voice. Without that, Ethiopia risked copying only the cheapest stage of the Bangladesh model.
As business archive, the MDS brief is a clear dated map of the garment bet: low wages brought orders, but they did not automatically build a fair or deep textile economy.
Sources: MDS