Ethiopia: Auction prices cut roses still under pressure

The auction prices for cut roses are still under pressure. Even though the prices seem to have improved a little bit over the last few weeks, they have again come under pressure. Now, all hopes are pinned on the Christmas sales. This is explained by Abebe Shiferaw Workneh of Tana Flora, an Ethiopian rose farm that grows around 21 varieties in a 38 ha sized greenhouse. Their main market is Europe, which they mainly supply through the FloraHolland auction in the Netherlands.

Yoseph Retta, Nega Mequanint Kassa of Tana Flora, Rinus Bouwman of BSI and Abebe Shiferaw Workneh at the BSI Meeting at FloraHolland last September.

Low prices
Due to various reasons, like the drop in the euro against the dollar and the unrest in Russia, the prices for cut roses have been low for a while now. "They increased over the last few weeks, but they are still lower than expected. Currently, the average auction price per stem is still 45 percent lower than we planned them to be."

Too low
Tana Flora supplies around 70% of their volume to the auction. Therefore, due to these low auction prices, the yield is less than expected. "We need to get better prices per stem than the market gives now. If we get that, then it is good," says Sheferaw.

Christmas sales
According to Sheferaw, the prices will go up during Christmas time. "Between December 20 and 25, we expect to have high sales and prices. So, currently, all our hopes are pinned on Christmas."

For more information
TanaFlora
Abebe Sheferaw Workine
Email: tanaflora2@ethionet.et
www.tanaflora.com