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Ethiopia and the Horn, 1920 - 1930
Massawa has been eclipsed by 1910 as an outlet for Ethiopian exports,
but the total value of Eritrea's foreign trade continued to rise, due to
re-exports such as coffee from Yemen and Djibouti. As yet, the highlands
contributed relatively little to the colonial economy and for many years
Eritrea had to import grain from northern Ethiopia. But the basis for
the further change was laid in 1908, when a railway was opened from
Massawa to the highland capital, Asmara, whose population was then
around 10,000. |