Ethiopia sees horticulture boom

Ethiopia generated a total of $114 million from flower exports during the first six months of its fiscal year, says the Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency (EHDA).

From the total revenue, $90 million was secured from the export of 289 million flower cuttings and over 20,000 tons of roses and summer flowers in the fiscal year, beginning July 2014.

EHDA also said close to 77,000 tons of vegetables, fruits and herbs were exported in the same period, generating $23 million.

The first half of the current budget year performance has registered a 7.2 per cent increase as compared to the same period last year.

Total revenue from horticulture exports in the 2013 and 2014 fiscal year was $106.15 million.

As in previous years, the Netherlands is the top export destination for Ethiopian flowers, accounting for 80 per cent of the country’s total flower exports.

Other markets include Germany, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), France, Italy, Japan and the US.

According to the agency, countries such as UAE, Somalia, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Yemen were the major importers of Ethiopian fruits and vegetables.

Flower plantations cover up to 13,000 hectares, while horticulture farming is on the rise.

This has created a significant export and earnings growth, the agency said.

The country, the fifth leading flower exporter in the world, earned over $245 million from horticultural exports in the last fiscal year ending July 7, 2014 – which exceeded revenue generated in the previous budget year by more than 6 per cent and earned $230.5 million.