"We have fulfilled what we promised our people and today we have made Ethiopia's wheat export dream a reality. According to him government officials informally forced wheat farmers to sell their product at a fixed price of 3,300 birr per quintal until it purchased the amount it needed. Unlike Ahmed, Hailu believes the unprecedented wheat price hike has emanated from the overall market inflation trends observed across the country. "The union has now stopped buying the grain as it is unable to compete with the existing market price. Gutu Tesso (PhD), an economist, however, said that although the wheat market inflation is directly intertwined with the overall market inflation, the inflation and shortage observed in the wheat market is mainly caused by the government's plan to export wheat in a bid to curb shortage of hard currency.

Source: Ethiopian News May 16, 2023 11:18 UTC