Injera is a luxury food item for Birtukan Mengesha, a waitress at Addis Abeba University student's lounge.

Besides the limited amount of tips she gets from the students and teachers, her monthly income is about 900 Br. Living in a Kebele house and not paying rent is an advantage, for she pushes through life supporting her father and daughter with the 12,000 Br her relatives from abroad may send during the three major holidays.

"Those are the times I buy teff," she said.

The gluten-free traditionally grown cereal crop teff, milled, fermented and baked to make a flatbread Injera, is adopted by almost all Ethiopians as a staple food. But Birtukan tries to manage her household by surviving off of bread made of maize or wheat in hope of making the teff flour last longer.

She had to lessen the amount she buys and settle for 80kg as the prices keep rising. She anticipates that the volume will further drop with the recent price increase that hit the capital a couple of weeks ago.

The price of teff has spiked with the price of a kilogram of teff showing up to 51pc increase from where it was a couple of weeks ago. The astounding prices have made local businesses that supply Injera to several institutions contemplate the idea of increasing prices and facing the probability of losing clients.

HBS Rohobot has been in the business of selling Injera to local consumers and distributing it to hotels and restaurants for more than a decade. HBS also takes pre-orders for gatherings such as funerals and weddings.

The owner, Bedilua Hailemariam, banked on the rumours that the price might increase, buying 10qtl of white teff with 65 Br a kilo that now hit the roof to 75 Br.

Bedilua claims she makes 800 Injera pieces from a quintal of teff void of additional inputs and sells one piece for 15 Br. She hires bakers on a contract basis and completes the production at her house near the CMC area.

She said the recent increase has made it impossible for her to stay in business without making price adjustments once she is out of stock.

"I'm constantly torn between adjusting the price and losing customers," she said.

Last week Ehil Berenda around the Merkato area ran out of white teff supplies. The hub of cereal crop distribution in the capital has other agricultural commodities traded as well with loading and unloading being the common scenery for a passerby.

One of the wholesalers Mesfin Regassa has been in the business of selling cereal crops, particularly Teff for over three decades. During the peak season, he used to have up to 30qtl delivered to his doorstep every other day.

The shop which was usually packed with sacks of the seven varieties now has only five quintals that are not even considered first-grade. He sells the second-grade white teff for 68 Br a kilo claiming a one Birr profit margin.

He said he split the supply that made its way before the break of dawn with six other wholesalers.

"I was lucky," he said.

Magna (white teff) is preferred by most consumers having the highest price, out of the other common varieties, Melestegna, Sergegna and Qey (red teff). It grows mainly in highland areas. Qey teff is relatively less priced despite being considered to have higher iron content.

Mesfin claims that drivers that supplied him Magna teff from towns such as Ada'a town in Amhara Regional State were not able to deliver for security issues they kept encountering on the regional borders.

"Witnessing trucks with bulk amounts of teff has gotten rare," he told Fortune.

Truck drivers have been eyeing Wolenkomi town in Oromia Regional State instead, 60km from the capital, claiming the supply chain from Amhara Regional State was disrupted. However, wholesalers claim it is not enough to meet the demands of the capital.

The scarce stockpile has resulted in the price hike that made sustaining business difficult for millers.

Hassen Ibrahim got back from Ehil Berenda, the same day Mesfin received his five quintals from a truck. He started the milling business eight years ago with an initial capital of 50,000 Br around the Lafto area.

Hassen arrived early morning. Despite toiling around, he left disappointed unable to find the white teff he was looking for although he recalled it was sold for 64 Br a kilo a couple of weeks ago. As his stock is empty, he had to settle for Sergegna teff even though it is not his customers' preference. He was in awe to learn that the price was 65 Br a kilo from 43 Br in a couple of weeks, which translates to a three Birr profit margin.

"The labour costs, living expenses, and rental fees will not be covered," said Hassen.