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Mehari Assefa, 25, is a
butter trader at the Gojam Berenda market in Merkato,
the largest open-air market in the continent.
Although he was optimistically expecting that the
butter business would pick up last week, thereby
boosting his income, it did not happen. To his
surprise he did not even see the usual congestion in
the market on Wednesday April 22. With lines of
frustration becoming visible on his face, he was
desperately looking for at least a single holiday
shopper for the largest Ethiopian Holiday among
orthodox Christians, Easter.
"With only few hours remaining to close my shop, I
did not even sell a kilogram of butter," Mehari
lamented, while sitting in his shanty shop at about
4:00pm.
Gojam Berenda is known
for the great number of consumers who flock there to
buy butter and honey. This was not the case this
year though. The skyrocketing rise of the price of
butter has deluded its daily visitors, despite the
holiday excitement in other markets.
A
kilo of Sheno butter is tagged at 95 Br on average
while the second grade Gojam butter is sold for 85
Br in Gojam Berenda. Yet still, in other markets,
businesses are selling the commodity for close to
100 Br per kilo.
The price surge is striking compared to the price
levels in the market at the same time last year. A
kilo of butter on average was hovering around 45-55
Br last Easter holiday. The price of Lega Sheno,
Lega Gojam and Lega Wolayta butters were sold for 52
Br, 45 Br and 42 Br respectively. The Mehakelegna
Gojam and Wellega were sold for 42 and 38 Br while
the Besal Gojam and Wollega butters went for 40 and
35 Br. The price escalation in the butter market
witnessed of late is even more than the confounding
inflation that is troubling the government,
economists as well as the urban poor.
The consumer price index has been continuously
rising in Ethiopia in the past three years. The 10pc
inflation rate in January 2006 has risen to 17.5pc
in January 2008. According to the National Bank of
Ethiopia (NBE), the headline inflation (inflation on
food items) has been playing a major role in pulling
up the overall price level: it grew from 12.9pc to
22.8pc from January 2006 to early 2008 respectively.
Core inflation grew from 6.1pc to 10.1pc in the two
years involved.
The current price hike in the butter market is
attributed to the scarcity of Belg rains in most
parts of the country, which decreased the pasture
available for cattle grazing. According to farmers
from Sheno, the rainfall scarcity has remarkably
dropped the productivity of their cows, thereby
necessitating the rise in prices.
This swell in prices seems to have impacted on the
holiday markets as well compounding the high turnout
of buyers. During this time of the season,
Christians in Ethiopia take out to the markets en
masse to purchase what ever would satisfy the needs
of the family. Although what is purchased in
different households differs in accordance with
their respective monetary strength.
Fasika
(the local version of Easter) is celebrated almost
equally across the board. As always this has a
bearing on prices in the market. Prices of sheep,
oxen, chicken as well as other spices like Berbere
(hot chilly) all pick up temporarily.
Prices of oxen have picked by close to 1,000 Br from
that of last year in the Kara Market. Larger oxen
are being sold for 7,000 Br while the smaller ones
have a price tag of 6,000 Br. Situated in the north
eastern part of Addis Abeba, the Kara Market is the
largest oxen market. All types of cattle can be
found in this market throughout the year, except in
the two fasting months that just ended last night;
Abiy Tsom and the 16 day Filseta Tsom in August. Now
is a boom in their business following the two month
fasting break. As the holiday fast approaches, the
market begins shaping itself to serve its customers,
and the more than 49 butcheries in the area re-open
their shanty shops, painting them in a fresh red and
white colour. This is what creates a holiday spirit
in the area.
Abdu Mohammed and Idris
Muzeynu are back to business in this market. In the
last three years, they have been trading cattle from
Jirru, Wollo and Jimma. The current price hike has
given them an incentive to aggressively come back to
their daily chore.
The price of medium-sized oxen has risen by 500 Br
while over 1,000 Br more has been slapped on the
large-sized ones.
The sheep market in Shola market has not changed
much compared to the previous New-year and Christmas
holidays. One could find sheep at the cost of 300
Br up to 1,300 Br in accordance with one's
preference. Chickens are also tagged at a similar
price to that of last year; 35 Br to 60B r in both
the Shola Market and the Agoza Market, off
Hailegebreselassie Avenue.
Onion prices have rather dropped from 3.50 Br last
year to 1.40-1.50 Br last week. Consumers flock to
these onion-selling merchants before they are caught
again by the swinging prices. Unlike Mehari, onion
traders were busy last week satisfying the needs of
their customers.
However, says Kuribachew Zewde, who was shopping in
the Shola Market, the oscillating prices may cause
someone like Mehari to truck and edge a living out
others.
"Only the future will determine that," she told
Fortune. |
