Ethiopia Earns $245 Million from Horticultural Products
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia – The Ethiopia Horticulture Development Agency said 245 million USD was earned from export of flowers, vegetables and fruits during the just-ended Ethiopia fiscal year.
Agency Director-General Alem Woldegerima told Ethiopian News Agency that of the total revenue earned 199.74 million USD was secured from flowers, 40 million USD from vegetables and 6 million from fruits.
The Director-General, who recalled that the revenue from horticulture during the previous fiscal year was 230.5 million USD, said the performance of the just-ended year has exceeded the previous year by 6.4 percent.
Ethiopian flowers are mainly exported to Europe, according to Alem. He said the major consumer countries are the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Norway.
Saudi Arabia, Japan, and the United States also import flowers. Fruits and vegetable are exported to Somalia and Djibouti, he added.
Currently, vast land is covered by horticulture, the Director-General stated.
Foreign investors are entering the country to invest in the horticultural sector, Alem revealed, adding that Israeli, Indian, Belgian and Kuwaiti investors are the majority of those. Dutch, Ecuadorian and Saudi are also following, it was indicated.
During the past Ethiopian fiscal year, a total of 1,119 hectares of land was given to foreign investors for the development of flowers, vegetables and fruits. Similarly, 100 hectares of land was given to local investors.
Sher Ethiopia from the Netherlands, Black Tulip and Fontana from Kenya and Esmeralda from Ecuador are reportedly either cultivating the land they secured or acquiring land.
More than 80 companies, most of them foreign-owned, are engaged in floriculture in Ethiopia, it was learned.
