Ethiopia Commodities Exchange expands.

The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange (ECX) has announced plans to introduce 5,000 information kiosks across the country over the next five years in its bid to improve the market environment for local farmers. The kiosks will be part of a national network allowing producers to access up-to-date information on ECX market prices, national market and production trends, the global commodity outlook, weather forecasts, cropping technologies, fertilizer and seed prices and other key data. The kiosks will be owned and managed by the local communities themselves, while infrastructure and network services will be provided by the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency and the Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation.

Officially launched in April 2008, ECX trades in locally produced agricultural products including wheat, maize, coffee and sesame and aims to provide accurate and timely price information and a transparent market for Ethiopian farmers. It is currently the only regulated commodities market in Ethiopia.