Ethiopian Flowers, Exporters of Ethiopian Flowers
This year the 20-hectare farm, a sprawl of irrigated and temperature-controlled greenhouses, is set to beat its target for growing, cutting, and exporting 21 million stems. Haileselassie said EHDA, a new body established under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development agrees with Tsegaye. According to Tsegaye, this month the reduced prices, which were the result of the global crisis, have shown improvement, and hopefully within the coming four months the export volume will increase again. Coffee, the top of the major export items, generates 36.3pc, while flowers, as well as Agriculture and Rural Development agrees with Tsegaye. According to Tsegaye, this month the reduced prices, which were the result of the global economic downturn. Prices per stem are now 10 cents (euro) or less, down 15-20 percent from last year. The problem is Europeans don't want flowers right now. The buyers in Amsterdam control the market, and they are setting prices very low – there is no minimum price for our stems. Every loss is on the growers' side: transport, water, electricity, wages, and even fees to the rose breeders." Oh, what a difference half a year makes Tsegaye Abebe, president of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer and Exporters Association (EHPEA) hosted 97 foreign and 233 local companies involved in the sector at a three-day biennial horticulture expo, Hortiflora Ethiopia 2009. Now, owing to the ever increasing effect the global economic crisis forces consumers to curb spending on perceived luxuries. It's a tough blow for Ethiopia, where flower power was touted to supplant coffee as Ethiopia's main export and highest earner of foreign exchange. It is a tough trade; cheap and high quality stems pour into the market from across Africa and Latin America, putting European buyers in the driving seat. The flora expo, dubbed "The New Face" of Ethiopia, was held at the Millennium Hall on Africa Avenue (Bole Road) from Wednesday, March 25, to Friday, March 27, 2009. The sector specific exhibition was an opportunity for businesses involved to voice their concerns. The majority of