Dagnachew Aschalew stands forlorn outside his butchery on the main thoroughfare in Adisu Gebeya, in Gulele District. Staring at his shuttered business last Thursday, September 26, 2019, Dagnachew recalls how two weeks prior, he received a warning from the Addis Abeba Trade & Industry Bureau. A day later the butchery was closed by city officials for failing to renew his trade license.

“Even though we tried to pay the tax and renew the license, the Bureau told us the tax audit was not complete,” said Dagnachew. “We can’t pay our tax unless we complete the audit, but the Bureau didn’t understand us."

Dagnachew’s is not the only business the Bureau closed two weeks ago. To control the continuously increasing price of goods and claiming to stabilise the market, the Bureau took measures against some businesses accusing them of contributing to inflation, while it also took measures on businesses like Dagnachew because of license issues.

The Bureau, after investigating 5,783 commercial enterprises, closed 691 businesses and issued warnings to 2,402. The closed businesses include bakeries, butcheries, construction materials shops and mills.

“A lot of my customers are coming to the butchery and leaving after they see that it is closed, and I'm forced to pay my employees even though the butchery is not working,” says Dagnachew.

The Bureau also closed 88 shops, which were found selling vegetables and fruits without receipts or were using forged receipts.

“The Bureau conducted research to understand the root cause of the continuously rising inflation in August,” said Habtamu Tilaye, an official at the Trade Inspection Regulatory Directorate. “Research shows that there are long and unnecessary trade chains, and we decided to cut these chains.”

Besides this, to prevent the contraband trade, a task force was formed by the city's Trade & Industry Bureau, Addis Ababa Police Commission, Revenue Authority and Attorney Bureau.

The task force arrested eight brokers and impounded 52 Isuzu trucks last week around Mercato for allegedly selling teffillegally.

In addition, the task force also seized 59 Isuzu trucks, which carried onions, avocados and oranges, in an operation that lasted for three hours on September 11, 2019.

“They're selling vegetables and fruit on the street, while selected areas at Atikilt Tera are the only designated area for sales of these items,” he adds.

We distributed the products to Cooperative Unions and Et-Fruit, and they are selling them at a lower price, Habtamu added.

The City Administration also claims that after it made the move there was a decrease in prices on some agricultural products and attributed the price decrease to its regulatory measures.

The price of onions, which had gone up to 30-34Br a kilogram in August now has come down to 10-18 Br a kilogram in the retail market and 10-16 Br at cooperative unions.