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The holidays often bring with them a great sense of new beginnings and opportunities that make us look forward to the days. However, supervising the upcoming holidays and preparing the cultural feast and the extravagance will make people feel the pinch in their pockets.
In many cultural celebrations around the world, food plays an important role in the festivities. Enkutatash, However, the New Year holidays come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is rampant in almost every corner of the world. The disease has managed to affect all economic, social and political lives globally, and Ethiopia is no exception.
Ethiopia, like the rest of the world, is not only fighting a health pandemic, but also an economic pandemic. However, markets have seen a large amount of supplies available during the week leading up to the New Year on September 11, 2020. Chickens, sheep, cattle and vegetables were made available despite fears of shortages caused by COVID -19.
Precautionary measures and restrictions taken on the movement of people and goods throughout the country, to reduce the spread of viruses, have directly or indirectly affected availability and prices. Many companies and industries have suffered drops in production. As a result, product shortages coupled with reduced income has created a challenge for many Ethiopians.
A recent report published by the Central Statistics Agency (CSA) has revealed that inflation reached 23 percent and food inflation rose to 26 percent. Non-food items have also shown an increasing trend for years and it continues to rise as the holidays approach.
The Ethiopian New Year can be a burden on many households, as the new school year also brings additional expenses in addition to vacation budgets. Both consumers and merchants have said that prices are trending upward, as expected in any holiday season, but some argue that prices are not as feared considering that the pandemic and unrest have made it impossible to resume activities.
On Tuesday morning, Zeritu Wasse and her husband Mekonnen Addisu went out to nearby markets to shop for holiday essentials. Mekonnen went to the Kera cattle market, while his wife did the shopping. In the late afternoon, they came home on time The reporter He called the couple to share his shopping experiences.
“Prices were more than I expected. The cattle market is, as usual, showing an increase,” Mekonnen said, adding: “I was planning to spend almost 3,000 birr for one sheep, but found it could cost me around 4,200. Birr It has skyrocketed I need to spend 1,200 extra birr on top of the budget I have allocated.“Zeritu also said the same about butter prices per kilo. He said the price increased to 380 birr, from 280 to 300 birr, days before the holidays.
According to Aschalew Messle, a sheep trader in Kera, the prices for this New Year are not as bad as expected. Prices, he said, range between 2,500 and 2,800 birr for a small-size sheep, while a medium-size sheep could fetch between 3,000 and 4,500 birr. Well-fed sheep cost between 5,000 and 7,000 birr, depending on the bargaining power of buyers, Aschalew said.
Looking at the availability and price of onions, one can recall that a kilo of onion sold for between 60 and 70 birr, a few weeks ago. Onion, one of the main ingredients, has seen a price increase in the last two to three months. However, now the price of a kilo of onion is around 35 birr and, despite the demand, it has experienced a relative decline in the last month. However, compared to the prices set in 2019, it has almost doubled. Last year, the price of a kilo of onion was 18 birr or less.
Similarly, the open market in Shola, one of the main commercial areas of the city located in the Yeka district, has seen a rise in the price of a live chicken. Mostly sourced from the Wolaita and Gojjam areas, chickens sell for up to 700 birr for the larger ones and 350 birr for a smaller chicken.
Habtamu, a sheep trader in the vicinity of Goro in Addis Ababa, has 200 sheep collected from Debrebrihan, Dessie and Wolita, to make available for the New Year’s market. He said this is the largest supply he had. “There are enough sheep available on the market for the holidays. But we haven’t seen buyers,” he said. Habtamu said Tuesday, just four days before the holidays. According to him, the maximum price of a sheep was between 6,500 and 8,000 birr, while a sheep with an average weight could reach between 3,500 and 5,000 birr. A small sheep can reach about 2,800 birr.
As is customary at Christmas markets, the price of a sheep has risen compared to previous seasons, said Habtamu, who has been in business for more than 10 years. “The market is not normal. The coronavirus pandemic has affected it a lot. When revenues decline, buyers tend to spend their money only on essentials.”
In addition, the five-month state of emergency law imposed was lifted, easing restrictions on public transportation, resulting in a massive movement of people and goods to and from the market. During the start of the pandemic, Makonnen used to have a small business in Wurgessa, a small town in the northern Wollo part of the Amhara region. He was forced to limit his movements to buy and sell commodities in neighboring markets. “Since the cost of transportation has doubled, it has affected my income a lot,” he said. According to Mekonnen, Your local markets have suffered from shortages of food and other items during the pandemic. But now things seem to have improved.
For example, the market for edible oil is improving. Mekonnen sells five liters of imported edible oil for 320 birr to 340 birr. At one point, customers were expected to pay more than 450 birr for the same product.
Yossef Belay, 28, a teacher at one of the private schools, was negotiating with a sheep merchant when he was approached The reporter in the market.
“The New Year is a great holiday season in our family and it is unthinkable to celebrate it without a sheep,” said Yossef, who lives with his mother and brother. Mentioning the price increase, he said it would not be easy for him to take a live sheep home. “Last year, I remember buying a medium-sized sheep for 2,500 birr, but today it is expected to pay more than 3,500. I should look for alternatives, perhaps joining a group of people from our neighborhood for Kircha,“Yossef said.
The volatility of prices and the availability of consumables, in relative terms, have not undergone dramatic changes given the political situation in the country and the challenges of the pandemic. Prices, as seen during the week of next New Year, were more or less better than last Christmas or Ethiopia’s Epiphany.
Contributed by Solomon yimer
