"In 1927, the visit of the Duke of Abruzzi to Addis Abeba caused an influx of people to the city where the Arada Market was not able to adequately supply food. So great was the influx of people for the week's festivities . . . that there was almost a famine among the poorer people in the town and the price of flour rose from six dollars to 13 dollars per sack, when it could be got at all."
 

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