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From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Wed Jan 26 2011 - 14:17:23 EST
Price Controls Cause Chaos in Ethiopian Markets
Peter Heinlein | Addis Ababa January 26, 2011
Price controls on many staple food items ordered by Ethiopia's government
early this month have reduced grocery bills for many low-income families.
But now shopkeepers are upset and some basic items are disappearing from
store shelves. Economists are concerned about the long-term effect of the
government's price-fixing strategy.
Confusion has been the order of the day at shops and markets across the
Ethiopian capital this month. The government surprised businesses on January
6, the Ethiopian Christmas Eve, by announcing price caps on such items as
meat, bread, rice, sugar, powdered milk and cooking oil.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the caps were a response to price gouging
by merchants taking advantage of global price hikes. He vowed to put a stop
to what he called "market disorder."
Consumers respond
The news was seen as a Christmas gift by many cash-strapped consumers, who
had seen food prices jump after the government devalued the local currency,
the Birr, by 17 percent in September.
In the first days after the price controls went into effect, Shenkut Teshome
was among shoppers who rushed to markets to scoop up goods at newly lowered
prices. He applauded government intervention as the only way to save
impoverished Ethiopians from starvation.
"People are hoping they can buy with their salary a fair material at a fair
price," said Shenkut. "[Prices] were exaggerated and people cannot afford to
buy with their salary and live at the same time, paying rent, this and that.
The main thing is that they have enough food for their children."
The price controls, however, have triggered chaos and tension in the local
marketplace. Arguments, even occasional fistfights have been reported
between irate shoppers and business operators as price controlled goods,
such as cooking oil and oranges, have disappeared from shelves.
One customer at a local shop, who spoke on condition of anonymity, quipped
that the net effect of the price controls is that nothing has changed. He
said that earlier, goods on the shelves were too expensive to buy. Now the
prices are lower, but the goods have disappeared.
Shopkeepers discouraged
Business owners said the past few weeks have been unbearable. Customers are
unhappy, some products they bought before the price caps must be sold below
cost, and neighborhood government representatives drop by several times a
day to check that they are in compliance.
Shopkeepers contacted for this report all said they were afraid to give
their names, but one who agreed to speak anonymously said she was ready to
give up.
She said, "This is way too much for us. We are small traders. We don't make
much money. We get everything on credit, so when this stock is gone, we are
closing up shop."
Government defends
Representatives of Ethiopia's Trade Ministry did not respond to numerous
interview requests for this report. But government officials have been
quoted as saying price controls were needed because retailers had raised
prices blaming global price increases and the devaluation, although such
factors had had no influence on the availability of their products.
In addition, four economists not affiliated with the government, all of whom
have previously spoken to VOA on the record, declined to be quoted this
time, saying the subject was too sensitive. But all four privately predicted
that price fixing would not help in solving Ethiopia's deep-rooted economic
problems.
Temesgen Zewdie, finance chairman of one of Ethiopia's main opposition
parties and a former Member of Parliament, called the price controls a step
toward a Communist-style command economy.
In a free market economy, the preferred way of doing this is to increase the
supply and increase competition," said Temesgen. "But the government did not
do that. Instead they went directly to the producers and retailers, telling
them to reduce prices and supply these products. These practices happen in
Communist states, not in western democracies."
Critics warn
Retired opposition leader Bulcha Dimeksa is a former deputy finance minister
and also a former World Bank director. He said history has proven time and
again the folly of price controls.
"This government is doing exactly what all the classical dictators in the
past have done and have failed," said Bulcha. "I do not understand how
people do not learn. It does not work. Price control never worked. It will
not work. It does not work. It may work for one month, but what's that? The
farmer is discouraged, the producer is discouraged, the retailer is
discouraged."
Despite the uproar, government officials are hoping their experiment in
price-fixing will help to curb inflation. Recently released figures show the
inflation rate jumped from 10.2 percent in November to 14.5 percent last
month.
Ethiopia is among the world's poorest countries. The CIA World Factbook
lists per capita purchasing power of $1,000 a year.
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