But this Christmas season, the energy that once filled Ethiopia’s largest livestock market feels subdued—muted by frustration and fatigue. Officials are also cracking down on illegal checkpoints after repeated complaints from livestock traders. Fekadu Lemma, an economic analyst based in Addis Ababa, attributes the crisis to a “threefold pressure” of currency depreciation, logistics inefficiencies, and regional insecurity. “Farmers blame traders, traders blame taxes, and buyers blame everyone. “We saved about 20 percent compared to local market prices,” says the organizer, Samuel Bekele.

Source: Ethiopian News January 08, 2026 09:52 UTC