The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX), founded in 2008, has seen its revenues drop by 22% over the past three years, with its customer base shrinking to just 510 active members. In 2023, it traded only 64% of its planned market volume and collected less than 22% of the nearly two billion Birr it was expected to generate over the last two fiscal years.
The Ethiopian Commodities Exchange (ECX), established in 2008 as a flagship for modernizing the nation's agricultural markets, is enduring its toughest phase yet. Once dominating the trade of agricultural produce, the platform now grapples with significant setbacks linked to government-imposed coffee price controls. Over the past three years, ECX's revenues have declined by 22 percent, while its active membership has dwindled to 510. In 2023, it achieved only 64 percent of its targeted trading volume. Moreover, over the previous two fiscal years, the exchange managed to collect just 22 percent of the approximately two billion Birr in expected fees. These figures highlight the mounting pressures on ECX, which was designed to bring transparency and efficiency to Ethiopia's commodity trading. As coffee, a key export, faces price restrictions, the exchange's role in stabilizing markets appears increasingly strained, prompting concerns about the broader agricultural sector's transformation efforts.