The gloomy Thursday of April 9th carries the same mood as the community itself, gloomy. Although only a few days remain until the Easter holiday, the Qera area, widely known for the sale of oxen, sheep, and goats, shows little sign of festive excitement. Tadelech Mengesha, a mother of seven, returned home with one chicken, despite planning to cook two for her large family. The only comfort she has now is that the chicken is large, though its exact weight is unknown.

Three years ago, she bought two chickens, paying 800 Br for one. Now the price has tripled; she paid 2,400 Br for a single one. A major part of the holiday, shaped by religious tradition, is chicken stew, with chicken and onion as the main ingredients. Tadelech bought onions earlier in the week at 80 Br per kilo. The current market price is 150 Br, while the government states the Sunday markets sell at 65 Br. “The quality of the onion in the farmers’ market is not up to standard,” Tadelech told Fortune.

Her purchasing power has now dropped from buying two chickens to just one, a shift that reflects wider uncertainty affecting her and Alem Tadesse, an onion and spice retailer in Shola Market, established by former Addis Abeba city mayor Arkebe Ekuabay.

Last year, she bought ten quintals of onions for the Easter holiday and managed to sell seven quintals at 150 Br per kilo. In contrast, this year she purchased only three quintals after observing a sharp decline in customers’ purchasing power.

Yet, none of her stock has been sold. “I have only sold five kilos since morning,” she said. Spices used in traditional butter preparation, such as cardamom, have dropped in price from 2,800 Br to 2,400 Br; still, customers are absent, Alem said.

She has worked in the same shop for more than two decades, raising her three children from the income it generated. However, these days, it hardly brings profit; she remains there mainly to avoid staying at home. Work now only comes during holidays, and even those opportunities have become increasingly rare.

Chicken prices have risen due to increased fuel, transport, and animal roughage costs. In markets such as Shola and Qera, chickens now sell between 1,200 Br and 2,500 Br. The increase is mainly driven by higher transport costs for contracted vehicles.

One vendor, Kirubel Gizaw, paid 80,000 Br to transport 200 chickens to Addis Abeba from Wolaita. During last Christmas, he paid 40,000 Br for transport alone. As a result, he reduced the number of chickens he brought this season, compared to 500 previously.

Kirubel and Abdurahim Khalid, both young poultry vendors, are affected by price volatility from sourcing regions. Abdurahim notes that “Wolaita” chickens cost 2,200 Br at source and sell for up to 2,400 Br in the city, while the cheaper “Saso” breed sells between 1,600 Br and 1,700 Br. Despite high costs, the price increase is lower than expected, yet most customers remain hesitant to buy.

A large portion of his overhead cost comes from transport and feed costs, which have risen due to fluctuations in fuel supply and diesel prices. He says transporting a single load (biaggio) from Debre Zeit now costs around 8,000 Br, having increased almost 50pc compared to the previous holiday.

While some transporters demand up to 12,000 Br, he notes that fuel conditions have recently stabilised, making logistics slightly easier on the day of the interview. For the holiday market, Abdurahim brought 150 chickens. He describes the current situation as having many “inquirers” but few “buyers.” Still, he remains hopeful, believing that those asking prices are often relieved they have not risen as much as expected. He plans to observe market conditions before deciding whether to bring more stock.

For traditional chicken stew, butter is essential, and its price has increased by up to 300 Br, following a tripling of transport costs per quintal to 1,200 Br. Tewodros Teshome attributed the increase to VAT. Butter now sells between 1,600 Br and 2,000 Br per kilo. “It is becoming a luxury,” Tewodros told Fortune.

Transport costs have had limited impact on chicken, eggs, and butter. But for goats, sheep, and oxen, the situation is different. One new shepherd in the Qera livestock area, who requested anonymity, called the situation “ridiculous.” His role has shifted from selling oxen in the market to working as a shepherd for wealthy clients.

Transport costs for 22 oxen, once ranging from 80,000 Br to 150,000 Br depending on origin areas such as Gojam, Gondar, Borena, and Wolaita, have now risen to between 150,000 Br and 300,000 Br per trip. As a result, ox prices have also increased sharply, with a minimum price of 40,000 Br.

The market now shows ox prices ranging from 105,000 Br to 350,000 Br. Some traders, like Gebeyehu Sani, who has worked in the area for two decades, brought only five oxen instead of 22. He had to pool resources with friends to transport oxen from Gojam. This has pushed smaller ox prices up by about 30,000 Br, now selling at around 120,000 Br.

Similar challenges are reported across the market. Gebeyehu, a veteran livestock trader with over 20 years of experience since 2002, specialises in transporting cattle from Bahir Dar. He typically travelled by plane while the cattle were transported by truck. He explained that he and two partners previously brought 15 cattle in total, five each, whereas he once managed five to ten cattle alone.