The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) has developed contracts for the trading of mineral products, aiming to diversify its offerings beyond the 22 agricultural products it currently handles. However, plans to introduce these minerals into the market have been stalled due to security concerns in the regions where these resources are found. Wondemagegnehu Negera, the CEO of ECX, announced that while the exchange was ready to trade in tantalum, opal, and sapphire, security issues in key regions have prevented the commencement of these operations.
The ECX, which has been operational for 16 years, has been instrumental in centralizing the trade of agricultural commodities in Ethiopia, providing a unified platform for pricing and transactions. This year, the exchange planned to expand its portfolio by introducing three new mineral products as well as several agricultural items, including beer barley and, for the first time, salt through a modern marketing system.
Negera highlighted the potential of mineral trading in regions such as Amhara, Tigray, and Oromia but pointed out that the prevailing security situation has posed a significant barrier to harnessing these resources for foreign exchange earnings. The specifics of the researched areas and the prepared contracts for mineral product trading were not disclosed due to these challenges.
The CEO also touched on the future implementation of an online trading system, which would enable traders to conduct transactions remotely, further enhancing the exchange’s accessibility and efficiency.
In the first nine months of the 2023/24 fiscal year, the ECX reported trading 172 thousand metric tons of agricultural products, valued at 19.4 billion birr, with sesame and coffee making up the majority of the trade volume. Notably, the trading price of coffee has seen a 5 percent increase, while sesame prices surged by 45 percent compared to the previous year. Over the past 16 years, the ECX has facilitated transactions worth more than 386 billion birr, marking a significant impact on Ethiopia’s commodity market.
