FORTUNE+ VIDEO SPONSORED CONTENTS ADVERTORIALS FORTUNE AUDIO Fortune Careers New TRADE AFRICA New

Fortune Logo

Inflatable decorations, bright lights and New Year paraphernalia are back in Mesqel Square as the holiday fair was opened at Addis Abeba Exhibition Centre. Crowds, about 3,000 a day, and expected to be triple as the Ethiopian New Year approaches next week, made their way to the Exhibition Centre to shop, eat, drink and listen to music. Inside were vendors that paid at least 7,000 Br for a square metre to the Exhibition Centre & Market Development Enterprise, which has organised the fair. The vendors, about a third of them foreign, offer consumer goods from furniture to spices and herbs.


The Exhibition Centre is not the only place where a fair is taking place. Millennium Hall is at the other end of Africa Avenue, which has returned to hosting a holiday exhibition for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Less popular than the veteran Exhibition Centre and less expensive, it is being organised by Century Promotion in five pavilions housing over 100 booths.


For vendors participating in the fairs, the return on investment is divergent. Vendors selling fast-moving consumables, especially those considered necessities, like edible oil, are seeing good business. Purchases of goods consumers can do without are not having a great time. This reflects the country's macroeconomic condition, where inflation is high and business activities are slow.


Runaway inflation, which has shown little sign of slowing down, surpassed the 30pc mark in August last year.  It has not slowed down since. The latest figure is no different. Food inflation stands at 35pc with prices for most cereals continuing to rise. Non-food inflation came in at a little over 30pc. Holidays may be a time of festivities, but they are not a shield against high prices.


You can read the full story    here    


PUBLISHED ON Sep 03,2022 [ VOL 23 , NO 1166]

How useful was this post?

Click on a star to rate it!

Average rating 0 / 5. Vote count: 0

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.



Related Posts

[ssba-buttons]

Put your comments here

N.B: A submit button will appear once you fill out all the required fields.

Editors' Pick

Exclusive Interviews

State Enterprises from Oracles to Apprentices

Dec 22 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Charged with transforming colossal state-owned enterprises into modern and competitiv...

Agenda

Rising Costs, Inflation Threaten Insurance Industry

Aug 18 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Although predictable Yonas Zerihun's job in the ride-hailing service is not immune to...

Agenda

BREWING DISCONTENT

Jul 28 , 2024 . By TIZITA SHEWAFERAW

Unhabitual, perhaps too many, Samuel Gebreyohannes, 38, used to occasionally enjoy a couple of beers at breakfast. However, he recently swit...

Fortune News

Electric Vehicle Push Leaves Investors in the Lurch

Jul 13 , 2024 . By AKSAH ITALO

Investors who rely on tractors, trucks, and field vehicles for commuting, transporting commodities, and f...

Commentaries

An Agenda for Tackling the Debt, Development Crises

Following the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in June, w...

The Global South Should Claim the Climate Mantle at COP30

Of all the seismic geopolitical shifts in recent years, perhaps the most striking is...

Fineline

Leaders of the National . . .

Leaders of the National Election Board are in a charm offensive mood, of a sort. Last week, they organised a rare tour for members of the me...

When the country’s most. . .

When the country's most senior diplomats and envoys return back to their posts after two-week debriefings, they leave behind a point or two...

Editorial

The Capital Market May Be Too Shallow to Swim In. Beware.

Aug 23 , 2025

Banks have a new obsession. After decades chasing deposits and, more recently, digita...

Capital Market Ambitions Face Credibility Test Over Conflicted Oversight

Aug 16 , 2025

A decade ago, a case in the United States (US) jolted Wall Street. An ambulance opera...

Squeesing Stones for Silver, the State Pulls While Taxpayers May Duck

Aug 9 , 2025

In the 14th Century, the Egyptian scholar Ibn Khaldun drew a neat curve in the sand....

Saplings Should Not Be Rushed Like Election Rallies

Aug 2 , 2025

At daybreak on Thursday last week, July 31, 2025, hundreds of thousands of Ethiop...

Gallery

Parliament Approves New Cabinet Members

Oct 6 , 2021

Parliament Approves New Cabinet, Incorporates Opposition Leaders Lawmakers have approved today the nominations of 22 ministers, including three opposition leaders. Two MPs have voted against, while 12 abstained...

2020 in Posterity

Jan 5 , 2021

TIGRAY VOTES DESPITE "NULL & VOID" THREAT

Sep 9 , 2020

IN-PICTURE: LAUREATE'S RECEPTION  

Dec 14 , 2019

PM Abiy Ahmed (PhD) at a Gala Dinner Called for the Awarding of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize

May 6 , 2019

Faces, Voices of Addis Abeba

Apr 26 , 2019

Sunday With Eden

Kindness That Came Full Circle

Some lives are measured in wealth, others in status, but the richest lives are measured in kindness. My European mentor, more like a father...

When Trust Becomes a Thief's Weapon

In recent months, I've spoken to several contacts who fell victim to a troubling online scam—one that hijacks personal Telegram accounts,...

Life Matters

Birth of African Icons

As I walked through the market in search of a school bag for my children, I noticed something striking: almost every bag, lunchbox, and t-sh...

A Day at the Tax Office

I have reached a conclusion: many people struggle to sit quietly and let public servants do their work. Instead, interruptions occur every...