Ethiopia pays $700 million annually in port fees to the tiny Red Sea state, which has been its main gateway for imports and exports... Djibouti had said the tariff hike would take effect in mid-August. But then the Ethiopian government said the move had been postponed indefinitely after Djiboutian President Omar Ismail Guelleh visited Addis Ababa in July.

Deptuy secretary-general of the AA Chambers of Commerce, said the new charges had been imposed as of Dec. 1.  "It is expected to create an inflationary situation," the Deptuy secretary told Reuters.

"Ethiopia will pay Djibouti a total of $722.5 million for port services annually. We consider this a huge burden and the government must seek an alternative." 

Ethiopian traders are also concerned about a reduction of free storage at the port to eight days from 15 days for import cargoes and to three days from 10 days for export cargoes.

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