Once a commercial trading hub in antiquity linking markets of East and West, Ethiopia wishes to
reclaim a place in the global market arena. As such the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX) in 2008 was launched. A marketplace for trading and quality, delivery and payment assured, several commodities, amongst which important export crops like coffee and sesame, are now sold through the ECX. Since 2009 it has been compulsory to sell all coffee through the ECX. For sesame, trade through the ECX will become mandatory from the 2010 season onward. Since its establishment and its mandate on specialty produce has been much debated and sometimes a politically sensitive issue. The goal of
this paper is to thus inform and discuss from a research perspective to support (Dutch) policy-makers. It also would like to acknowledge the recent efforts made by the ECX to address the challenges that specialty markets pose.
