As the Easter holiday approached, the holiday buying frenzy in Addis
Abeba was in full swing last week.
Some residents felt the pinch on
purses, while others, such as
Mulunesh Waleleign (left), were
satisfied with their purchases. She
attributed her purchase of two
chickens for a total of 110 Br to
successful bargaining. her lifelong
friend, Tiruwork Beyene (right),
helped her tie up the fowls destined
to become the Easter feast on
Sunday, April 24, 2011.
They were among the few who went to the market earlier in the week to
finish their shopping before the
anticipated speculatuve escalation
of prices towards the end of the
week as the holiday drew nearer.
Shola market received mixed reviews from shoppers. In comparison with
the same period last year, there was
a significant increase in the
average prices of meat and animal
products, ranging from sheep and ox
to butter and eggs, according to the
majority of those surveyed by
Fortune.
The price of “yehabesha” and “yeferenge” eggs, sold at 1.65 Br, showed
an increase of 10pc over last year’s
prices around Easter. The price of
one kilogramme of butter was, on
average, 125 Br last week, an
increase of 65 Br (38.9pc) over the
price of last year. The price of
sheep, ranging between 500 Br and
2,650 Br for a small and big animal,
respectively, showed an increase of
160pc. The price of an ox has also
risen dramatically. Prices stood
between 8,000 Br and 21,000 Br last
week, a leap of 40pc from the
previous year. Big, live chickens
cost 11pc more last week, than they
did last year. This makes holiday
shopping beyond consideration for
people such Tsegereda Asgedom, 38,
domestic worker providing laundery,
with an average monhtly income of
400 Br.
While most prices had increased, one item, “yeferenge” onions, showed a
sharp decrease from 6.50 Br per
kilogramme to 4.50 Br per kilogramme.
The price of the local variety
remained as it was last year: 10 Br.
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