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Ethiopia: Flower Exporters Strengthen Ties to Japan
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Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
17 September 2007
Posted to the web 18 September 2007
Dawit Abebe
Addis Ababa
Flower exports to Japan reached 70,000 stems per week a year after export was launched to world's second largest economy in 2006. The Japanese Ambassador to Ethiopia, Kinichi Komano, vowed in a traditional flower arrangement demonstration held at the Addis Abeba City Hall on September 13, 2007, that Japan would increase its flower imports from Ethiopia.
A group of Japanese flower arrangement professionals arrived on the eve of the millennium and demonstrated a flower arrangement ceremony, ikebana, in City Hall lead by Richo Miyamota, grand master of the Koryu-Toyokai school, which believes in valuing and admiring the beauty and magnificence of even the tiniest flower. This culture is believed to be deeply connected to the Buddhist philosophy popular among the society.
The flower arrangement presentation was organised by the Ethiopian Women Exporters Association and the Japanese Ambassador and staff of the Embassy.
Brehane Deressa, mayor of Addis Abeba, said on the occasion that Ethiopia and Japan have close cultural similarities and ties, which is reinforced through cultural exchanges.
The Japanese professionals also staged another demonstration last week Friday to give Ethiopians the opportunity to learn the art first hand. The demonstration held in Armenian Ararat Sporting Club cost 50 Br for members of the Ethiopian Women Exporters Association (EWEA) and 100 Br for non-members.
The flower industry in Ethiopia is labour-intensive and currently employs 50,000 people, out of which 70pc are women. The sector is exponentially expanding, particularly in Rift Valley area. However, the fledgling businessis suffering the repercussions of lack of local demand as almost all produces are exported.
Hadia M. Gonji, flower exporter and vice president of Ethiopian Women Exporters Association, told Fortune that the country is benefiting considerably from the sector and there is still unutilised capacity. A significant proportion of the floriculture farms in Ethiopia are located around Addis Abeba within a 10km radius. Although 200 projects in the floriculture industry have been licensed, only 60 of the licensed flower farms go into operations currently.
Hadia also added that the demonstrations would help to increase domestic consumption, boosting local demand to supplement the export predominately to the Netherlands.
The Japanese Ambassador stressed that the success that has been achieved in coffee export promotion through traditional coffee ceremony should also be repeated in the flower sector through developing a culture of local flower consumption.
Tsegaye Abebe, chiarman of Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association, told Fortune the flower export to Japan and the rest of the world has shown a continuous increase in volume and earnings.
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Data from the Ethiopian Customs Authority show that in 2006/07, Ethiopia generated over 63 million dollars from the export of flowers showing a 289pc growth from that of the previous year.
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