Meskel Flowers, Ethiopia: exporting cut flowers against competition
Meskel Flowers was incorporated in 1992 as a private company, and began exporting cut flowers to European markets in 1993. The company started by selling low-value, outdoor summer flowers, but decided to switch to relatively high-value, indoor cut roses after facing crippling competition from a Kenyan exporter. It currently exports 5.5 million cut roses a year and has 500 employees. Turnover is expected to quadruple to US$ 4 million in the 2000-2001 season, and the company has plans to reach US$ 20 million in five years.
