Ethiopian flower market less rosy in the face of unrest
Last year alone the country gained close to 300million dollars in revenue from the export of 50,600 units of cut flowers. Flowers not chosen for the export market are diverted into the local market- to customers such as Laketch Asfaw Burial Service, as well as gift shops and hotels.
"Flower farms can take anywhere from 2-3 years to get off the ground, maybe even more depending on the size of the operation and the machinery and equipment it requires. The costs also differ, depending on the machines that need to be imported and the seedlings that are purchased. But all in all it's a very expensive sector, costing millions to start and operate," Gizachew Belay, a shareholder and advisor of Abyssinia Flowers told Fortune.
"The local market is not a significant portion of the sector," Gizachew said. "Because only flowers that aren't graded for export enter the local market, local sales make up about 1pc of a flower farm's revenue, maybe less. A farm can produce about 200-400 boxes of flowers annually."
Despite its late entry into the export market, Ethiopia's horticultural industry has been a success story, seeing Ethiopia become the second largest exporter of flowers in Africa with an estimated 2pc share of the global export market, after Kenya (about 7pc), and ahead of Uganda, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
However, in November 2015, things began to look less rosy for flower farmers. Political unrest began to stir, initially about the land allocation and resettlement of farmers to make space for farms, some of which were foreign investments. Then in August 2016, smaller protests and instances of vandalism began to lead to property destruction, vandalism and looting. Most of it was centered on government infrastructures and buildings, but then the protestors turned their attention to the flower farms. Machines and vehicles were burned and greenhouses were destroyed. More than an estimated 11,000 people lost their jobs in the flower industry due to the unrest.
Read more at allAfrica.com