AFP (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia launched a commodities exchange market, aimed at boosting fair trade and stabilizing its food market on 24 April. Initial trading on the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange was limited to maize and haricot beans on the 24th, but is set to expand to coffee, sesame, teff (a staple grain in Ethiopia) and wheat. Ethiopian Finance Minister Mekonnen Manyazewal said the exchange represented "a new era" that would level the playing field for smaller farmers. Ethiopia earned over one billion dollars in the past nine months from exports of coffee, cereals, spices and other agricultural products. Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hx9JtHoqXrmt70jvUsQ86-S1e6vA (Reliability: 8.5)
Comment: Ethiopia is among Africa's least urbanized countries, and three-quarters of the country's 78 million people are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. While a small number of traders will control trade on the exchange initially, the government is hoping the biggest beneficiaries are Ethiopia's farmers.
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