2merkato

Ethiopia has earned more than 17.4 million USD from Valentine’s Day flower export, Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency (EHDA) said.

The revenue was secured from the export of 195.6 million flower stems to the international market in this year’s Valentine’s Day celebration.

Unlike same time last year, the flower export during this year’s Valentine’s Day exceeded in quantity as well as in terms of revenue. 

Last year’s Valentine’s Day celebration, the country earned 17.1 million USD from the sale of 187.7 million flower stems. The amount secured has been increased by more than 300,000 USD this year. This is due to the increasing demand for Ethiopian flowers regardless of the harsh weather condition witnessed in most of Europe.

The Netherlands, Norway, Germany, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Japan, UK, Italy, France and Lebanon were the first top ten recipients of Ethiopian flowers in the reported period.

Ethiopia is still enjoying an increased demand for its flowers in Europe, Asia, Middle East, Far East and other parts of the world. Thus, the Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency has carried out market promotion activities to widen market opportunities.

With the intention of penetrating the American vast flower market, EHDA and the Ethiopian Horticulture Association in collaboration with Metropolitan Washington Air Ports Authority have been taking part in the International Floral Trade Exhibition in New York and Washington DC.

With regards to private investment in the sector, more than 110 local and foreign companies have already been engaged in the development of flowers, fruits, vegetables and herbs, according to the Agency. 

The nation has secured 134 million USD from the horticulture industry sector over the past seven months in the current Ethiopian fiscal year. Flower export takes the lion’s share out of the stated amount of money generated.

Source: This news article was prepared and sent to 2merkato.com by Mekonnen Hailu, Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency (EHDA)'s senior communication expert. 

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, is seeking international contractors to construct a four star hotel near Bole International Airport, Addis Ababa. The airline plans to have the hotel completed in two and a half years.

Ethiopian requested international construction firms to put in their bids for the ‘design and build’ of the hotel project on a turn-key contract basis.

It is to be remembered that the airline had cancelled a previous invitation for consultants for this project made in 2009 wishing to evaluate other alternatives.

The collaboration of Beza Consultants and Engineering plc and American A1 Consulting Group is in competition with the partnership between Ultimate Plan plc and Egyptian Arab Consulting Engineers for design review and contract administration for the construction of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, Head quarters.

The Bank is in the process of evaluating international construction firms to handle the ‘design and build’ turnkey contract to construct its 46-storey Head Quarter building to be located in Addis Ababa.

CBE officials were not able to comment on the status of the bidding process at this time. 

The Revenues and Customs Authority of Ethiopia is considering the reduction of the 20 million birr capital required of IT companies interested in supplying the electronic cargo tracking devices to be installed on freight tracks traveling to and from Port Djibouti.

The tax authority has not certified any suppliers yet because the established requirement proved to be a deterrent according to sources.  

Complaints received from the IT sector has led ERCA officials to re-evaluate their requirements based on an assessment of practices in place in other countries.

Ethiopian Airlines, Ethiopia’s flag carrier, is taking steps to economize to save up to one billion birr to ward of operational difficulties due to a significant increase in expenditure following a sudden increase in international fuel prices according to sources.

The measures to be adopted by the airline include seeking employees to relinquish a percentage of their salaries, soliciting free over time service, increasing customers, reducing waste, offering maintenance service for other airlines, and negotiating a reduction on the lease paid on rented aircraft.

A Sugar development project is in progress in Tigray Regional State, Ethiopia according to Abaye Tsehaye, Director General of the Ethiopian Sugar Corporation.

More than 40,000 hectares of land has been allocated for a sugarcane plantation, with 10,000 earmarked for the construction of a sugar factory with quarters for employees explained Abaye.

The factory is expected to create employment for 10,000 people as well as enhancing the irrigation development in the area he said.

United Bank, Ethiopia awarded the contract to upgrade its data center, to Seven Seas Technologies Group, a Kenyan Technology firm.

The contract estimated to be worth nine million birr stipulates that the work will be accomplished in four months.

The data center will allow space for the effective functioning of the core banking system that has been implemented by United Bank according to officials.

The Investment Agency in Ethiopia is investigating the operations of Alliance Media to evaluated if it operating as per its license.

The agency is assessing if the South African company is manufacturing billboard panels as per its license said Tewodros Tamiru, Director of the Legal Directorate with the EIA.

Allegations have been rife that Alliance is engaged in advertising activities by renting the panels it has erected across the city for advertisement purposes, a sector reserved for Ethiopian nationals.

Ethiopia has earned 172.5 million US dollars in revenue from the manufacturing sector in the last 8 months according to the Ministry of Industry.

The revenue was generated from the garment, leather and leather products, textile, chemical and pharmaceutical and agro processing sub sectors said Melaku Taye, Corporate Communication Director for the Ministry.

The money earned was 54.2 million US dollars more than the same period last year although it is just 60% of the target set by the ministry said Melaku.

Ethiopia released the Interim Report on Poverty for 2010-11 last week. The Household Income Consumption and Expenditure Survey for 2010-11 showed that the poverty head count in Ethiopia is 29.6%

The proportion of poor people as established by this survey showed a significant decline from 2004-05 when the index was 38.7%.

Poverty rate has decreased in both rural and urban areas, with a more marked decline in urban areas according to the data analysis.