Addis Ababa, 13 August 2016 (WIC) – The Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency has announced that the country has earned close to 275.5 million dollars from the export of horticulture in the past budget year.
Agency’s Public Relation Coordination Head, Mekonen Hailu, said that the country has earned the stated amount in past budget year from the export of flower, fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Mekonnen noted that the country has earned the lion share of the revenue from the export of flower. He said that the country managed to rake in over 225 million dollars from the export of floriculture while the remaining 50 million dollar was earned from the export of fruit, vegetables and herbs.
Ethiopia has exported over 49 thousand tones of roses, 714 pieces of cut flower and over 166 thousand tones of fruits and vegetables in order to earn the stated amount of foreign currency, he said.
Mekonnen noted that the export gain from the sector has grown by 10.7 percent as compared to the previous budget year.
Based on information obtained from the agency, more than 80 percent of the country’s horticulture has been export shipped to Europe while the remaining went to the USA, Middle East, Far East and Africa.
More than 130 companies are engaged in the production and export of horticultural products currently operates in Ethiopia.