Agricultural Markets in Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia’s agricultural markets are quickly evolving, driven by major contextual changes including high population growth, rapid urbanization, major infrastructure investments, income growth, diet change, and policy reform. Agricultural supply chains are rapidly growing, and they are an increasing source of employment in the country. Agricultural markets are found to be better integrated and marketing margins and seasonal price amplitudes to have become smaller over time, but we also see an increase in prices of nutritious high-value foods, and this is in contrast to staple cereal prices. Although food imports and the number of food aid beneficiaries have not reduced over time, Ethiopia remained a net agricultural exporter, in value terms, for all but one year in the decade before this study, illustrating at the national level the relatively good performance of the agricultural sector.