"To leave market participants with no freedom of choice really just replaces previous single channel marketing systems with a new one. The ECX is certainly not an agricultural commodity exchange in the true sense of the word as it is effectively a single channel marketing system for a number of commodities. " This is an excerpt from a n independent study carried out for COMPETE , a program funded by the United States Agency for International Development under the East Africa region. The draft copy of the report titled COMMODITY EXCHANGES IN AFRICA BEST PRACTICES was filed on the COMPETE AFRICA website on December 6, 2011. Source: COMPETE AFRICA Whilst there is evidence that the ECX has been successful in terms of the volumes and values traded, this needs to be put into perspective as the Government of Ethiopia has legislated that all coffee and sesame trades have to be conducted across the exchange floor, the only exception being producers who can sell into th...