In response to the growing costs seen in Ethiopian markets, the government has declared plans to purchase 50 million liters of edible oil.
The cooking oil is being transported via trucks and the Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway, according to Kassahun Gofe, State Minister for Trade and Regional Integration, who made this announcement during a briefing on August 26, 2024.
Kassahun claims that the government has mainly purchased this necessary good in order to “improve the cost of living and stabilize market prices for the upcoming Ethiopian New Year.”
Consumer prices have noticeably increased across the country, especially in Addis Ababa, the capital city, since the government recently implemented extensive macroeconomic reforms.
Authorities are acting against companies who are alleged to have engaged in price gouging and hoarding tactics as a result of this price rise.
According to a poll done by Ethiopian Media in a number of Addis Ababa markets, the cost of some products has significantly increased, particularly imports and necessities like sugar, onions, and oil.
A merchant who works at Merkato, a well-known market in the city, and who asked to remain anonymous, noticed a significant increase in the cost of cooking oil. Cooking oil used to sell for 900 birr per five-liter container, but now it might cost up to 1,200 birr.
A second Addis Ababa resident—who also wished to remain anonymous—lives in the Shola market and attests to a similar pattern in cooking oil costs. Cooking oil used to cost 1,000 birr, but now it costs 1,500 birr.
In a similar vein, the cost of a kilogram of sugar has increased to 116 birr.
The Ethiopian Industrial Input Development Enterprise (EIIDE) stated on August 25, 2024, that it will be acquiring 200,000 quintals of sugar, which will be shipped to the nation in a week.
The CEO of the EIIDE, Yeshimebet Negash, told state media in an interview that the company is coordinating its efforts with government directions to avoid fictitious shortages of consumer items in the wake of the recent macroeconomic reforms.
The CEO claims that the 200,000 quintals of sugar cost 2.3 billion Birr to buy. “Next week, the sugar will begin to enter the country,” she stated.
