In the period up to 1935, despite the fact that food supplies did not pass through the Addis Abeba food market, it was large and continually growing. The market was not, however, as big as one might have expected from a city of Addis Abeba's size. This may have been because a large part of the population did not have to resort to the market for food.
 

Source: Research by David Chapple, made before the 1974 revolution