Addis Merkato:
The Indigenous Market Center
John Bolton of The Salt Lake Roasting Company is one of hundreds of businessmen
each year who pass through the markets of Addis Ababa in search of the
perfect bean. Here, he comments on his first impressions of Adds Ababa
and the Addis Merkato:
I woke at 5 :00 am and went to the Saturday market in Addis Ababa.
This is a huge setting where they sell everything imaginable. Because we
were early, the hordes of people hadn't arrived yet though it was still
busy. Since the streets were crowded, everything was carried in to sell,
and often times it had to be carried for several blocks. I witnessed many
ten year old's carrying baskets on their heads, laden with melons or tomatoes.
These baskets easily weighed twice as much as their porters. I think the
spices I saw were probably the most interesting items at the market. Also,
the flavored butters and cheeses revealed the diverse tastes and unique
heritage that is north east Africa.
Commercial and Employment Center
The market Bolton refers to is the Addis Merkato (New Market), the largest
market center of Ethiopia. Located half a mile west of the Arada in the
Addis Ketema district (see
map), the Merkato is the commercial core of the city and covers an
area of several square miles. Addis Merkato is a trade and retail center
of incomparable dimension in the region. Over 13,000 employees, working
for 7,100 business entities, including some 2,500 retail shops, most in
open stalls, operate the Merkato each day (Area Handbook 408). The Merkato
is also home to 1500 service businesses and 80 wholesale operations in
a dense sector of narrow streets and alleyways (Area Handbook 408).
Exchange and Distribution Center
Today the Merkato serves as a kind of inland port for central Ethiopia.
It is a key exchange point for grains, pulse, oilseeds, vegetables and
animals and an assembly and distribution center for imports. In addition,
much of the agricultural product of southern Ethiopia is shipped through
the Merkato before it is exported via the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway
(Area Handbook 40). The primary export of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa is coffee,
a product which has its own market within the Addis Merkato. During busy
parts of the year, a 'coffee auction' is held daily y with nearly 100 growers
offering 150 varieties of bean on one side of market and 40 anxious international
coffee buyers on the other side (Bolton).
The Old Arada Market and Relocation
What makes the Addis Merkato unique is its history as a center for indigenous
trade. The original market center of the fledgling capital, was located
in central Addis Ababa across from the St. George Church and thus was dubbed
the St. George Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Shortly after the turn of the
century, St. George Merkato, operated only on Thursdays and Fridays by
Arab merchants, displaced the nearby Entotto Market as the regional retail
and distribution center (Area Handbook 407).
The St. George Market at the Arada (1935) prior to its relocation to Addis
Ketema was a large open area filled with informally employed street vendors
(Zewde, Bahru. A History of Modern Ethiopia. London: James Currey, 1991.
p. 70).
As part of their citywide segregation scheme, the Italian
occupational government reserved the St. George Market for foreigners
and Italians only. The Italians allotted several parcels of land a half-mile
west of St. George Market for a 'new Ethiopian Market' which developed
into the Addis Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Both market centers have operated
since, but the St. George commercial district, today known as the Piazza,
or central square, grew into the city's upscale retail and shopping sector.
Addis Merkato became Addis Ababa's main trade center and large numbers
of Amhara as well as Tigray joined the Arabs as merchants and commercial
workers (Area Handbook 407). By the 1960's, the Arab influence in Addis
Merkato had diminished and Ethiopians dominated trade and sales (Area Handbook
407).
Addis
Merkato:
The Indigenous Market Center
John Bolton of The Salt Lake Roasting Company is one of hundreds of
businessmen each year who pass through the markets of Addis Ababa in search
of the perfect bean. Here, he comments on his first impressions of Adds
Ababa and the Addis Merkato:
I woke at 5 :00 am and went to the Saturday market in Addis Ababa.
This is a huge setting where they sell everything imaginable. Because we
were early, the hordes of people hadn't arrived yet though it was still
busy. Since the streets were crowded, everything was carried in to sell,
and often times it had to be carried for several blocks. I witnessed many
ten year old's carrying baskets on their heads, laden with melons or tomatoes.
These baskets easily weighed twice as much as their porters. I think the
spices I saw were probably the most interesting items at the market. Also,
the flavored butters and cheeses revealed the diverse tastes and unique
heritage that is north east Africa.
Commercial and Employment Center
The market Bolton refers to is the Addis Merkato (New Market), the largest
market center of Ethiopia. Located half a mile west of the Arada in the
Addis Ketema district (see
map), the Merkato is the commercial core of the city and covers an
area of several square miles. Addis Merkato is a trade and retail center
of incomparable dimension in the region. Over 13,000 employees, working
for 7,100 business entities, including some 2,500 retail shops, most in
open stalls, operate the Merkato each day (Area Handbook 408). The Merkato
is also home to 1500 service businesses and 80 wholesale operations in
a dense sector of narrow streets and alleyways (Area Handbook 408).
Exchange and Distribution Center
Today the Merkato serves as a kind of inland port for central Ethiopia.
It is a key exchange point for grains, pulse, oilseeds, vegetables and
animals and an assembly and distribution center for imports. In addition,
much of the agricultural product of southern Ethiopia is shipped through
the Merkato before it is exported via the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway
(Area Handbook 40). The primary export of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa is coffee,
a product which has its own market within the Addis Merkato. During busy
parts of the year, a 'coffee auction' is held daily y with nearly 100 growers
offering 150 varieties of bean on one side of market and 40 anxious international
coffee buyers on the other side (Bolton).
The Old Arada Market and Relocation
What makes the Addis Merkato unique is its history as a center for indigenous
trade. The original market center of the fledgling capital, was located
in central Addis Ababa across from the St. George Church and thus was dubbed
the St. George Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Shortly after the turn of the
century, St. George Merkato, operated only on Thursdays and Fridays by
Arab merchants, displaced the nearby Entotto Market as the regional retail
and distribution center (Area Handbook 407).
The St. George Market at the Arada (1935) prior to its relocation to Addis
Ketema was a large open area filled with informally employed street vendors
(Zewde, Bahru. A History of Modern Ethiopia. London: James Currey, 1991.
p. 70).
As part of their citywide segregation scheme, the Italian
occupational government reserved the St. George Market for foreigners
and Italians only. The Italians allotted several parcels of land a half-mile
west of St. George Market for a 'new Ethiopian Market' which developed
into the Addis Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Both market centers have operated
since, but the St. George commercial district, today known as the Piazza,
or central square, grew into the city's upscale retail and shopping sector.
Addis Merkato became Addis Ababa's main trade center and large numbers
of Amhara as well as Tigray joined the Arabs as merchants and commercial
workers (Area Handbook 407). By the 1960's, the Arab influence in Addis
Merkato had diminished and Ethiopians dominated trade and sales (Area Handbook
407).
John
Bolton of The Salt Lake Roasting Company is one of hundreds of businessmen
each year who pass through the markets of Addis Ababa in search of the
perfect bean. Here, he comments on his first impressions of Adds Ababa
and the Addis Merkato:
Commercial and Employment Center
The market Bolton refers to is the Addis Merkato (New Market), the largest
market center of Ethiopia. Located half a mile west of the Arada in the
Addis Ketema district (see
map), the Merkato is the commercial core of the city and covers an
area of several square miles. Addis Merkato is a trade and retail center
of incomparable dimension in the region. Over 13,000 employees, working
for 7,100 business entities, including some 2,500 retail shops, most in
open stalls, operate the Merkato each day (Area Handbook 408). The Merkato
is also home to 1500 service businesses and 80 wholesale operations in
a dense sector of narrow streets and alleyways (Area Handbook 408).
Exchange and Distribution Center
Today the Merkato serves as a kind of inland port for central Ethiopia.
It is a key exchange point for grains, pulse, oilseeds, vegetables and
animals and an assembly and distribution center for imports. In addition,
much of the agricultural product of southern Ethiopia is shipped through
the Merkato before it is exported via the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway
(Area Handbook 40). The primary export of Ethiopia and Addis Ababa is coffee,
a product which has its own market within the Addis Merkato. During busy
parts of the year, a 'coffee auction' is held daily y with nearly 100 growers
offering 150 varieties of bean on one side of market and 40 anxious international
coffee buyers on the other side (Bolton).
The Old Arada Market and Relocation
What makes the Addis Merkato unique is its history as a center for indigenous
trade. The original market center of the fledgling capital, was located
in central Addis Ababa across from the St. George Church and thus was dubbed
the St. George Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Shortly after the turn of the
century, St. George Merkato, operated only on Thursdays and Fridays by
Arab merchants, displaced the nearby Entotto Market as the regional retail
and distribution center (Area Handbook 407).
The St. George Market at the Arada (1935) prior to its relocation to Addis
Ketema was a large open area filled with informally employed street vendors
(Zewde, Bahru. A History of Modern Ethiopia. London: James Currey, 1991.
p. 70).
As part of their citywide segregation scheme, the Italian
occupational government reserved the St. George Market for foreigners
and Italians only. The Italians allotted several parcels of land a half-mile
west of St. George Market for a 'new Ethiopian Market' which developed
into the Addis Merkato (Area Handbook 407). Both market centers have operated
since, but the St. George commercial district, today known as the Piazza,
or central square, grew into the city's upscale retail and shopping sector.
Addis Merkato became Addis Ababa's main trade center and large numbers
of Amhara as well as Tigray joined the Arabs as merchants and commercial
workers (Area Handbook 407). By the 1960's, the Arab influence in Addis
Merkato had diminished and Ethiopians dominated trade and sales (Area Handbook
407).
The opinions expressed in this document are those
of theauthor, not that of Fortune City's.