By Zerihun Tesfaye Addis Neger Online September 1, 2010 Ethiopians now need to find a name for the new market system. Sure, the pure monopoly is getting closer to the Ethiopian agriculture marketing system, but it is indeed true that the market is becoming increasingly skewed to favour the Ethiopian government. Last Saturday, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi clearly stated that all agricultural products would be traded on the floor of the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in the coming years. He bluntly declared, during discussions with traders and their associations, that because the ECX system is modern and reliable, all agricultural commodities must now be traded based on ECX’s “state- of –the-art”. It has been over two years since the ECX missed its target and moved towards a monopoly-like market structure. The first commodity exchange was established in the country in April 2008, with a capital investment of Birr 194 million. At the time of its establishment, many hoped that...