ADDIS ABABA, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Prices of daily groceries have surged in Ethiopia due to higher transport costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East, as the country's Orthodox followers prepare to celebrate Easter on Sunday.
Ethiopia follows the Eastern Orthodox calendar, different from the widely used Gregorian calendar.
In the East African country, Easter comes after a 55-day fasting from animal products, mainly meat, milk, butter and eggs. The holiday is celebrated with a series of events, including the slaughter of sheep, goats, or oxen, depending on the financial capability of a household.
Adamu Yohannes is one of the onion wholesalers in Merkato, a large open-air market in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. The onions he bought for the holiday market from Humera, nearly 900 kilometers north of Addis Ababa, arrived at Merkato four days late due to fuel shortage along the route, causing them to rot and leading to heavy losses for him.
"A significant portion of my onions loaded on different vehicles went rotten due to exposure to sunlight, humidity and rain while transporting to Addis Ababa. The trucks spent more days than before due to fuel shortage," Yohannes told Xinhua in an interview.
According to onion traders approached by Xinhua, the conflict in the Middle East has raised transportation costs to more than 250,000 birr (about 1,600 U.S. dollars) per freight from 70,000 birr.
Getahun Bekalu, 26, is a long-haul truck driver engaged in transporting agricultural products, including onions. Bekalu said the sweeping fuel rationing introduced by the government has forced him to spend several more days before arriving in Addis Ababa.
"Truck drivers were allowed to buy only 200 liters of diesel oil from a petrol station. With the 200 liters of diesel, I could only travel about 200 kilometers. Then, I had to queue once again to refuel before heading to the next town. The situation forced me to arrive in Addis Ababa four days later than I used to," Bekalu told Xinhua.
Hundreds of trucks loaded with onions and other agricultural products are still stranded in towns along the route while waiting to refuel. Bekalu said the fuel shortage has, in some circumstances, led to disputes between drivers and wholesalers after the latter received rotten products.
The situation has also left consumers in dismay as onions, integral to holiday meals in Ethiopia, are sold at 100 birr per kilogram in Merkato and other places in the city.
Had it not been for the high transportation costs triggered by the conflict in the Middle East, the price of onions per kilogram would have been 30 birr, thanks to the bumper harvest this year, according to local traders.
The fuel crisis has also resulted in higher transportation costs for cattle, which in turn increases the price of an ox by about 40 percent compared to three months ago.
"I paid 15,000 birr per ox to bring them from Gojjam, about 400 kilometers away from Addis Ababa. The transportation cost has tripled compared to the cost in the previous holiday," Mesfin Wolde, an oxen trader, told Xinhua.
Prices of chicken, sheep and goats have also seen at least a 30 percent rise due to increasing transport costs.
Ethiopia, like many other East African countries, relies heavily on fuel and basic commodities transported through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital, narrow waterway in the Middle East. Soaring fuel prices have exacerbated inflation in the country and eroded the purchasing power of its citizens. ■
