Central Vegetable Market of Addis Ababa

 


The central vegetable and fish market of Addis known in Amharic name Atkilt Tera is a vegetable and fruit whole sell market that used to be located in the heart of the city. It is a place where fresh produce comes from almost all corners of Ethiopia to be resold to small traders who in turn sell in small local markets that local juice bars and restaurants buy from. Some individuals with big families also come to buy in bulk to save money. For a reason, I don't know fish is sold in this market. It might be because some Orthodox Christance eats fish during lent where they abstain from meat and dairy products. It makes sense to have all items needed for the lent season in one place. 

The fresh produce is collected from farmers from all over Ethiopia by merchants who travel to collect the harvest and sell it to another bigger merchant who sells it to whole sells in the capital.  The same product might be sold and bought multiple times before it reaches the city. The chain is long and there are also middlemen who speculate prices and arrange transactions within the chain. While money is made in each transaction the farmer benefits the least maybe getting as little as 15% of the value of his product is worth when it is finally sold to the consumer. 

Fresh delivery comes to the market through the night for the next day trade so the market wakes up early where buyers come early to get the freshest and best produce. This is not your friendly farmers market, everyone is looking to get the highest profit as much as they can so there is big hassle and bustle and huggling for prices which fill the air with the consistent buzz of sounds. Like any African market sounds of car horns, animals and traders shouting fill the air. What fills the air is not just sounds but a smell of rotten produce and fish going bad which takes some time to get used to. 

People from all walks of life try to get the best deals and the freshest produce.  Also, hundreds of daily laborers make their living by moving crates, sacks, and whatever needs to be moved from warehouses to people pickups and cars. They balance a huge pile of vegetables and fruits over their shoulders and heads and zig-zag between absent-minded traders.

Photographing this chaos is a great experience for any professional, street, travel, or amateur photographer. There is no lack of subjects or stories to capture whereas, like the produce, people who come from all corners of the country can be found trading to make a living like all humans did for millennia. 

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