File photo shows guests taste traditional Ethiopian coffee at the coffee and music corner in the venue of the 16th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Jan. 31, 2011. (Xinhua/Zhao Yingquan)

ADDIS ABABA, Feb. 9 (Xinhua) -- China has become Ethiopia's top export destination, buying 144.5 million U.S. dollars of goods and services from the east African country in the past six months, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday.

Export to China in the first six months of the Ethiopian Fiscal Year 2017-18, which started July 9, accounted for 17.3 percent of Ethiopia's total export, overtaking Somalia, now accounting for 14.32 percent, said Wondimu Filate, head of Public Relations and Communication Affairs Office at the Ethiopia Ministry of Trade.

The United States came third at 11.92 percent.

"China became Ethiopia's top export destination because of increase in volume of export items such as Oilseeds, leather products, coffee and electronics products," Filate said.

Ethiopia earned 1.35 billion dollars from exports in the first half of the current fiscal year.