The Ethiopian Floriculture Industry Blooms Hearts for Valentine’s Day

A Little History

The language of flowers dates back for centuries. You can find art, folklore, sonnets, plays, and mythologies from the Greeks, Romans, Chinese, and Egyptians, all filled with flower symbolism. During the Victorian Era, flower language became especially en vogue. Why? Flowers offered a subtle way to deliver emotion-packed messages, since Victorian-era etiquette dictated discreteness and reserved decorum. However, some blooms had harsh and unpleasant meanings, while others had multiple and contrary (even cryptic) meanings, so the landscape of flower symbolism became a minefield of potential social missteps. This explains why the pastime fell out of fashion.

The language of flowers has shifted and evolved over time, but the allure of this silent dialogue exists today. Tree and flower cuttings have been in high demand in the world, and Ethiopia has been able to meet this opportunity by growing the products individually for export in many parts. These range from ornamental foliage, bulbs, roots and cut flowers.?

The Ethiopian floriculture industry is booming, it is one of Africa’s biggest flower exporters. It creates more than 85,000 jobs and Women take up 80% of these jobs.?

In 2021, Ethiopia exported cut flowers valued at $235M, making it the 5th largest exporter of cut flowers in the world. The main destinations of exports from Ethiopia are Netherlands ($157M), Saudi Arabia ($21.5M), United Kingdom ($9.53M), Norway ($9.39M), and Seychelles. ($5.46M). Incentives from the federal government for agricultural investors as well as the Ethiopian Cargo facility contributed immensely to the development of the industry as a whole.?

Red Roses Symbolizes Romance, Deep Love, and Passion.

About 80% of the flower exports from Ethiopia are roses, they are known for their high quality, long stems and vibrant colors. Roses have a universal symbol representation of love and are used on different occasions depending on their color. They have an approximate vase life of two weeks if well taken care of.

Last year, Ethiopia exported 2.7 million kilograms of flowers to the European market during Valentine’s Day alone and the bulk of them were fresh-cut roses. The busy season occurs from December until June especially for celebratory occasions such as Christmas, Valentines and Mother’s Day.?There are a number of varieties including the African rose, fedora, Sanaa, Euphoria and the Kiwito.

The Ethiopian flower industry emerged in the late 1990s. In spite of being a late-comer, the industry has shown remarkable growth over the past years and has become the second-largest flower exporter in Africa.

The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) reported revenues from cut-flower export at USD 600 million for the 2022/23 fiscal year, making flowers the second-most valuable export commodity after coffee.

Celebrate your 2024 Valentines Day with beautiful Ethiopian flowers.

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