Executives of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) are adding Wheat to the exchange floor following the federal authorities' decision to lift bans imposed on wheat exports.

This marks the second time the ECX opening a window for wheat export. It had established a window to allow exporters to export Wheat over a decade ago. However, high demand in the domestic market led to the ban remaining enforced for 14 years.

ECX executives recently added lupin beans, cardamom, and frankincense to the floor, increasing the portfolio of traded commodities to 17.

Federal authorities in the agricultural sector push for the country to boost wheat production to 107 million quintals farmed on more than half a million hectares in summer irrigation. They hope to see 10 million quintals be exported next year, a plan international experts say is "impractical" and "over-ambitious." Ethiopia's annual production of Wheat, the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa, is projected to reach 5.6 million quintals this year.

Federal authorities have announced that they would stop buying Wheat from outside that has been imported to stabilize domestic prices. However, Wheat keeps coming to the country through the World Food Program to provide for millions of food-insecure citizens. Ethiopia remains a net wheat importer, meeting over 70pc of the demand with domestic production.

“We'll allow wheat to be imported for aid," confirmed Esayas Lemma, director of crop development at the Agriculture Ministry.

Managers from ECX and experts from the ministries of Agriculture and Trade embarked on a study assessing the feasibility of including Wheat in the export list. The findings were presented to ECX executives under Wondimagegnehu Negera last week, in the presence of representatives from the ministries and the Standard Authority. ECX has prepared a draft contract.

"We'll begin trading wheat as soon as we get the green light from the Trade Ministry," said Netsanet Tesfaye, corporate communications manager.

Officials hope to see exporting Wheat increasing the flow of foreign exchange reserves the IMF disclosed plummeted to below one billion dollars.

Ethiopia has adopted a national wheat farm development strategy, aiming to improve Wheat production. The harvested area is estimated to be nearly 1.95 million hectares with an estimated yield of 2.83tns per hectare. Between six to seven million farming households are estimated to engage in wheat farming. This includes 1.3 million farmers organized to plow 30,000 clusters across the country. Each cluster is expected to plant improved seeds, use the same fertilizers, and benefit from the same extension support.