Ethiopian Flowers, Exporters of Ethiopian Flowers
Sabeta, Ethiopia - A local pop song trills out from the radio, filling the cavernous packing hall at the Ethio Highland Flora Farm sold 20 to 30 percent fewer flowers, punching a hole in expected revenues and compounding the pain caused by low stem prices. Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa) - Transactions on flowers have declined so drastically that the earnings of flower farms do not even cover the cost of freight. This is mainly attributed to the global economic downturn. Though the price of a stem of rose has gone down to as low as o.o6 dollars from about 0.20 dollars in the European market where consumption has fallen considerably, according to industry observers. Ethiopia flower, horticulture exports miss target Ethiopia is being hit hard by a dramatic slump in demand for flowers as the global economic slump. * Ethiopia flower 11-month earnings 40 pct below target Just six months ago, things looked very different. The social impact of decline will also be keenly felt in Sabeta – where small holding farmers were convinced to sell their land to flower farms by the promise of big rewards to come. The country earned $336 million from the sale of 261,216 tonnes of oil seeds in the 11 months to May. It earned $321 million from 114,442 tonnes coffee in the same period. Despite a recent pledge to support the industry "through thick and thin," Meles – as he is widely known – can not hold back the confluence of global and local forces sweeping across the Ethiopian flower business. Foreign and local investors piled into the sector lured by predictions of revenues of $1 billion within five years, tax incentives, and a surfeit of cheap labor. Whether the problem will be reversed is highly dependent on the changes in the market dynamics at export destinations, the observers argue. Sales forecasts are traditionally pegged to an expected bonanza at Valentine's Day and 'Mothering Sunday' Though there are claims that the reasons are far removed from the global economic crisis