The Ethiopia Commodity Exchange operates on an “open outcry” system, which means that buyers and sellers negotiate publicly and simultaneously on the trading floor during designated hours. The system is meant to provide transparency, but the scene can look confusing to an outsider. Click on an image below to see how it works.
-
- This bell is rung to mark the opening of a trading session. On April 24th, 2008 Eleni Gabre Madhin rang this bell to signal the beginning of the first day of trading at the Ethiopia Commodity Exchange.
-
- In the open call system, private discussions are not allowed. Traders shout out the price, quantity, and grade of the commodity that they want to buy or sell.
-
- A trader raises his hand to indicate that he's interested in either buying or selling.
-
- When a buyer and seller agree on a trade, they give each other a high-five.
-
- The buyer and seller go together to the requisition desk, where they fill out paperwork. The details of the trade are run through a computerized system, which verifies that the seller has the inventory he's selling available in an ECX warehouse, and the buyer has the money in an ECX account.
-
- Within four seconds after the trade is approved, the price is listed on electronic screens like this one in 16 markets throughout the country.
-
- The ECX has warehouses throughout Ethiopia where commodities are stockpiled. The day after a trade is made, the seller receives his money, and the buyer can go to any warehouse that has a similar product in stock to pick up his purchase. In this way, a farmer from one town can sell his goods to a buyer in another without ever having to truck his sacks across the country.
