The commodities are grass pea, black cumin, coriander, black pepper, and yellowish & greenish fenugreek. ECX aims to secure additional funding, ensure quality items, help address the illegal trading schemes of spices, and secure payments for 1.1 million spice farmers.
On the same day, these commodities were added, a quintal of black cumin got traded for 26,500 ETB, and a quintal of fenugreek for 12,000 ETB. The total number of commodities on the ECX trades has now reached 17 and aims to add more in the future. For the past 14 years, ECX has been applying modern trading schemes to boost productivity and sustain international quality standards.
Ethiopia cultivates 348,000 tons of spices and 2.6 million tons of vetch (grass pea) every year. However, only 15,000 tons of spices and 775,000 quintals of vetch are exported every year. Ethiopia’s Minister of Trade and Regional Integration, Woldemeskel Chala, pointed out the need to enhance foreign trade, secure more forex, and reinforce contraband trade control from cultivation to foreign exchange.
