The Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) announced that it would be opening up its fourth electronic trading centre in Gonder, Amhara Regional State. In addition to its head office in Addis Abeba, it provided electronic trading services in Hawassa, Humera and Neqemt. Similar facilities are also under construction in Mizan Teferi and Tepi in the country's southern part. In its half-year report, ECX reported that it had traded 320,000tn of commodities worth 19.8 billion Br. The figure is 11pc higher than what it had targeted for the first half of the fiscal year and over 13pc higher than what it traded during the same period last year. However, ECX fell slightly short of its goals in terms of quantity traded over the past six months, with a five percent decline compared to the same period last year. With the inclusion of speckled beans, white pigeon peas and pinto beans onto the trading platform, the number of commodities traded at ECX has reached 12. ECX also announced that it is currently conducting preliminary studies to introduce nine new commodities to its trading floors, including cotton and various spices.