2merkato

In about a decade the Ethiopian flower industry has grown to become a major player in the international market. The Ethiopian flower industry has blossomed again on this years Valentine's Day.

Zelalem Messele, chairman of EHPEA, the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association intone the importance of Valentine's Day for the Ethiopian flower industry, "It's one of the holidays the flower industry flourishes. And the production goes up by 30 to 40 percent and so the demand,”.

Ethiopian flower exporters are considering entering the Russian flower market directly. Exporters were not able to access the large Russian market because Ethiopian Airlines does not offer flights to Moscow according to sources.

Currently Ethiopian flowers are exported to the Netherlands with the Netherlanders exporting to Russia under their own tag.

Ethiopian Airlines, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ethiopian Airlines are working to facilitate the processes to launch cargo flights to Moscow said Endashaw Yigezu, Head of Air Transport and Planning at a consultative meeting held by the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority.

Ethiopian Airlines announced that it is flying 22 times a day to Gondar from Addis Ababa for the Ethiopian Epiphany (Timket) festivities.

Ethiopia's inflation rate for food items for the Ethiopian month of Yekatit (February 8th-March 9th) plummeted to a single digit 7.9 per cent. The overall national inflation rate also fall to 10.3 percent for the same period, according to the Ethiopian Ministry of Finance and Economic Development.

The Butajira Fruit Nursery and Training Center, Ethiopia blended imported species with local ones producing short trees that are ready for harvest within three years. Avocado species and technology were imported from Israel through financing from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The blended species is resistant to disease, bears fruit annually for an estimated fort years and bears fruit that is uniform and softer than local types said Amerga Menji Manager of the Nursery.