Ethiopia: Delays in New Flower Shipping Service As Competitors Fume
Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
October 17, 2006
Posted to the web October 17, 2006
Issayas Mekuria
Amid local furore over its plans to start its own air shipment service, the Boeing 747 airplane leased by Sher Ethiopia Plc for the transportation of flower cargo from Ethiopia to Europe did not arrive on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 as previously planned by the Company.
Sher Ethiopia, a flower farming company, was established by a group of Dutch investors, which are currently working on 450ht of land around Ziway, 163km from Addis Abeba. On September 26, the company sent out e-mails to 77 companies working in the floriculture sector, announcing that it would be bringing a plane to transport flower freight from Addis Abeba to Belgium twice a week. The freight plane was leased from the Dutch company, Laudan Airways.
A member from the management of Sher Ethiopia told Fortune last week that although the Dutch airline had intended for the plane to arrive in Addis on October 5, it postponed the arrival to Tuesday. But even by then, the plane had still not made its way to Ethiopia.
Another member of Sher Ethiopia management told Fortune that the reason for the delay was due to internal procedures that the company needed to resolve. He was unwilling to reveal what these procedures were.
Sher's intention to lease a plane to carry flower freight was received with resistance from Ethio-Horti Share Company, a flower shipping broker established by 30 flower exporters, and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association.
"It is not fair that now that flower export has become a successful business, this company wants to transport flower cargos for us. The Ethiopian government has given the sector much support and Ethiopian Airlines was shipping our goods at a loss when the sector was struggling to make it,' said Solomon Sebhatu, board chairperson of Ethio-Horti Share Company.
He told Fortune that Sher Ethiopia required flower exporters to pay for the service in foreign currency, which would be unbeneficial to the country. Consequently, said Solomon, the Airways should not be allowed to enter the flower shipment business.
Various flower companies involved with Ethio-Horti have made their displeasure very known to Sher Ethiopia through emails, copies of which were forwarded to Fortune. The emails clearly express a desire to reward and defend Ethio-horti Share and Ethiopian Airlines for their patience and efforts in the early birth pangs of the flower business, many years before Sher Ethiopia arrived on the scene.
"I wish you were here with us a few years back when we left part of our products at the airport," wrote Lemlem Sissay (Ph.D), managing director of Oda Flowers Plc, in one of the emails addressed to Joost Van Klink, Sher Ethiopia co-owner, describing tougher times.
According to the original Sher email, the first air freight was to take place on October 5, the second on October 7 and the third on October 10 and that the same three-flight-a-week schedule would be repeated from there on. The planes were to pick up flower freights from Kenya and pass through Ethiopia to pick up more cargo.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority had explained that the Airways would only be allowed to transport flower cargo for the month of October. According to the Authority, the permission was given due to the great volume of flowers that were expected to be exported during this month and the concern that there would be gap that could not be filled by Ethiopian Airlines alone.
"We know nothing about being given just one month," said a Sher staff member. "We see no reason why we should not be allowed to transport flowers like any other freight company."
In the past six years, the Ethiopian government - which has been strongly encouraging the expansion of the flower sector - made 20 million euros from flower and vegetable exports. The government hopes to make 40 to 50 million euros in the sector this year.
Ethiopian Airlines has responded to the boom in the flower export sector by turning one of its Boeing 757 passenger aircrafts into a cargo plane. The modified Boeing was put to use last week. In addition, the Airline has announced that it will be leasing an MD 11 airplane, capable of carrying up to 85tn.
The email from Sher claimed that the decision to provide a service was taken because of an urgent need to provide for cargo space, especially during peak season. "As we all experienced, there are a lot of problems with air freight from Addis, therefore we like to start our own operation," the E-mail stated.
Now, Sher Ethiopia concedes that perhaps Ethiopian Airlines can fill in the void without their intervention. "If Ethiopian Airlines is fully capable of transporting flower cargos, then maybe we will not have to bring in the plane after all," a staff member of Sher Ethiopia said.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Ethiopia: Ministry Eyes At Boosting Ethiopian Share in Global Coffee Markets
Ethiopia: Ministry Eyes At Boosting Ethiopian Share in Global Coffee Markets
ENA
Addis Ababa
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it is undertaking activities that would help the country obtain fair prices from its coffee export.
The ministry has set plans to collect 488 million USD from the export of 220,000 tons of coffee this Ethiopian budget year.
Ministry Agricultural Products Promotion Department Head, Assefa Mulugeta told ENA that the ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coffee exporters, and various state bureaus is undertaking capacity building and promotion activities.
Assefa said the ministry would provide trainings to 46 coffee exporters on coffee market management, international market information analysis and promotion systems as well as coffee quality investigation.
He said the ministry would provide coffee cupping trainings to 12 coffee processing investors and 61 experts working in coffee research centres located in coffee growing areas.
The head said the government has planned to provide assistance enabling coffee exporters to participate in trade fairs to be held in Japan, Switzerland, and U.S.A. in order to promote their products.
Strategies that would help take better share in the international coffee market would be prepared through Ethiopian embassies in U.S.A., German, Japan, Saudi Arabia, China, Italy, France, and Belgium, he added.
Assefa said 46,281 USD has been secured from 21, 000 tons of coffee exported during the months of July and August, 2006.
ENA
Addis Ababa
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said it is undertaking activities that would help the country obtain fair prices from its coffee export.
The ministry has set plans to collect 488 million USD from the export of 220,000 tons of coffee this Ethiopian budget year.
Ministry Agricultural Products Promotion Department Head, Assefa Mulugeta told ENA that the ministry in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, coffee exporters, and various state bureaus is undertaking capacity building and promotion activities.
Assefa said the ministry would provide trainings to 46 coffee exporters on coffee market management, international market information analysis and promotion systems as well as coffee quality investigation.
He said the ministry would provide coffee cupping trainings to 12 coffee processing investors and 61 experts working in coffee research centres located in coffee growing areas.
The head said the government has planned to provide assistance enabling coffee exporters to participate in trade fairs to be held in Japan, Switzerland, and U.S.A. in order to promote their products.
Strategies that would help take better share in the international coffee market would be prepared through Ethiopian embassies in U.S.A., German, Japan, Saudi Arabia, China, Italy, France, and Belgium, he added.
Assefa said 46,281 USD has been secured from 21, 000 tons of coffee exported during the months of July and August, 2006.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Ethiopia: Sher Ethiopia Sparks Flower Shipping Price War
Ethiopia: Sher Ethiopia Sparks Flower Shipping Price War
Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
October 10, 2006
Posted to the web October 10, 2006
Issayas Mekuria
The growing floriculture export and transport business is in a tug of war between two transport facilitators.
A price war was sparked between Ethio Horti Share Company and Sher Ethiopia Plc after an email message was sent by Sher to 77 growers announcing new cargo services to Europe. The email said that the company would begin leasing an airplane to transport flowers and vegetables to Luik, Belgium starting October 5, 2006.
The floriculture industry which had only two flower growers as early as six years ago has grown in leaps and bounds to a total of 90 companies out of which 46 have started to export their flowers to the European market.
Ethio Horti Share Company was formed with a five million Birr capital by 30 of these flower growers in October 2004 to broker and facilitate the transportation of flowers to their export destinations.
During peak floriculture seasons, Ethio Horti charters planes and charges a reduced shipping cost of 1.40 dollars to 1.50 dollars a kilogram. In normal circumstances, when sharing cargo space with other sectors, the company charges between 1.58 dollars and 1.70 dollars a kilogram.
The biggest share of flower transportation out of the country has always been using Ethiopian Airlines. And Ethio Horti renewed an agreement last week with Ethiopian to transport the floriculture exports for the next few years at the usual rates.
But now, Sher announced in its email that it will offer a fixed rate of 1.65 dollars per kilogram to any local flower grower, clearly undercutting Ethio Horti prices outside peak season.
Moreover, Sher mentioned in its email message that it will start its own operations flying with a leased Boeing 747 from Dutch based Lauden Airways. With Sher, payment will only be expected once the flowers are sold in Europe. The shipping charge will be deducted from the hard currency sale proceeds (industry experts told Fortune that the shipping cost is about 40pc of total proceeds).
But Although Sher Ethiopia guarantees its fixed price for a year, Eyob Estifanos, Air Transport and Planning department head with the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority told Fortune that Lauden, Sher's transporter, is only licensed for one month.
"They cannot be allowed to operate after this period," said Eyob.
Indeed, according to Eyob, the license for Lauden (and for Sher's new service) was only offered as a stop-gap measure for the peak flower shipping season. But the email from the company clearly infers that the service should be understood as long term.
Gerrit Barnhoorn, general manager of Sher Ethiopia, disagreed with Eyob when approached by Fortune on the one month license issue. "It has not yet been decided," he said, refusing to comment further.
One anonymous flower grower told Fortune the Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio Horti's prices fluctuate making Sher Ethiopia's fixed price an interesting proposition.
Moreover, the grower said Ethio Horti flies flowers to Brussels, Belgium and then transports them to Amsterdam, causing inconvenience, especially for perishable products like flowers. Sher Ethiopia's service, if in fact becomes one, would transport the flowers directly to its own specilaised transporters, according to the Sher email.
Solomon Sibhatu, board chairman of Ethio-Horti, conveyed his displeasure at the new competitor.
"Ethiopian has done a great deal to support the sector," he said, "and we can not take it for granted what it has done, even losing up to one million birr a day in the early days of the industry. The permission granted to Sher to ship flowers should not have been given. There is more than enough air cargo available."
Sher Ethiopia Plc was founded in 2005 by three shareholders, Gerrit Barnhoorn, Peter Barnhoorn and Joost van Klink. It is located in the Zewai area, 163Km from Addis Abeba, on a 450ht plot. Sher develops farms and sells greenhouses to flower growers, charges them on a nine years instalment basis.
Sher Ethiopia's first air shipment to Belgium was scheduled to depart Thursday, October 7. It has been postponed, said company staffers, till October 10. Gerrit Barnhoom could not confirm the new schedule.
The Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association have projected to export 20,000tn of floriculture and vegetable products during the six months peak season, amounting to 40 - 50 million euros. Last year, the country exported floriculture products worth of 21 million euros.
Addis Fortune (Addis Ababa)
October 10, 2006
Posted to the web October 10, 2006
Issayas Mekuria
The growing floriculture export and transport business is in a tug of war between two transport facilitators.
A price war was sparked between Ethio Horti Share Company and Sher Ethiopia Plc after an email message was sent by Sher to 77 growers announcing new cargo services to Europe. The email said that the company would begin leasing an airplane to transport flowers and vegetables to Luik, Belgium starting October 5, 2006.
The floriculture industry which had only two flower growers as early as six years ago has grown in leaps and bounds to a total of 90 companies out of which 46 have started to export their flowers to the European market.
Ethio Horti Share Company was formed with a five million Birr capital by 30 of these flower growers in October 2004 to broker and facilitate the transportation of flowers to their export destinations.
During peak floriculture seasons, Ethio Horti charters planes and charges a reduced shipping cost of 1.40 dollars to 1.50 dollars a kilogram. In normal circumstances, when sharing cargo space with other sectors, the company charges between 1.58 dollars and 1.70 dollars a kilogram.
The biggest share of flower transportation out of the country has always been using Ethiopian Airlines. And Ethio Horti renewed an agreement last week with Ethiopian to transport the floriculture exports for the next few years at the usual rates.
But now, Sher announced in its email that it will offer a fixed rate of 1.65 dollars per kilogram to any local flower grower, clearly undercutting Ethio Horti prices outside peak season.
Moreover, Sher mentioned in its email message that it will start its own operations flying with a leased Boeing 747 from Dutch based Lauden Airways. With Sher, payment will only be expected once the flowers are sold in Europe. The shipping charge will be deducted from the hard currency sale proceeds (industry experts told Fortune that the shipping cost is about 40pc of total proceeds).
But Although Sher Ethiopia guarantees its fixed price for a year, Eyob Estifanos, Air Transport and Planning department head with the Ethiopian Civil Aviation Authority told Fortune that Lauden, Sher's transporter, is only licensed for one month.
"They cannot be allowed to operate after this period," said Eyob.
Indeed, according to Eyob, the license for Lauden (and for Sher's new service) was only offered as a stop-gap measure for the peak flower shipping season. But the email from the company clearly infers that the service should be understood as long term.
Gerrit Barnhoorn, general manager of Sher Ethiopia, disagreed with Eyob when approached by Fortune on the one month license issue. "It has not yet been decided," he said, refusing to comment further.
One anonymous flower grower told Fortune the Ethiopian Airlines and Ethio Horti's prices fluctuate making Sher Ethiopia's fixed price an interesting proposition.
Moreover, the grower said Ethio Horti flies flowers to Brussels, Belgium and then transports them to Amsterdam, causing inconvenience, especially for perishable products like flowers. Sher Ethiopia's service, if in fact becomes one, would transport the flowers directly to its own specilaised transporters, according to the Sher email.
Solomon Sibhatu, board chairman of Ethio-Horti, conveyed his displeasure at the new competitor.
"Ethiopian has done a great deal to support the sector," he said, "and we can not take it for granted what it has done, even losing up to one million birr a day in the early days of the industry. The permission granted to Sher to ship flowers should not have been given. There is more than enough air cargo available."
Sher Ethiopia Plc was founded in 2005 by three shareholders, Gerrit Barnhoorn, Peter Barnhoorn and Joost van Klink. It is located in the Zewai area, 163Km from Addis Abeba, on a 450ht plot. Sher develops farms and sells greenhouses to flower growers, charges them on a nine years instalment basis.
Sher Ethiopia's first air shipment to Belgium was scheduled to depart Thursday, October 7. It has been postponed, said company staffers, till October 10. Gerrit Barnhoom could not confirm the new schedule.
The Ethiopian government and the Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association have projected to export 20,000tn of floriculture and vegetable products during the six months peak season, amounting to 40 - 50 million euros. Last year, the country exported floriculture products worth of 21 million euros.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Ethiopia: Ethiopian Backing Foreign Trade
Ethiopia: Ethiopian Backing Foreign Trade
Email This Page
Print This Page
The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)
October 8, 2006
Posted to the web October 9, 2006
ENA
Addis Ababa
The Ethiopian Airlines said it is taking part in backing foreign trade as well as saving foreign currency. With a view to meeting the increasing demand for cargo services, the airliner has had one of its Boeing 757 passengers' jet converted into cargo. The plane arrived here Friday carrying imports on the way.
The airlines told ENA yesterday that it transported a large volume of flowers and agricultural products to various countries during the last budget year.
According to the airlines, the amount transported during the reported period shows a 173 per cent increase compared to the previous year same period.
The airline also transported 7.5 million-kgs of meat during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, surpassing that of the same period last year by 27 per cent.
During the early months of the fiscal year, it also cargoed 5 million-kgs of fruits and vegetables.
Email This Page
Print This Page
The Ethiopian Herald (Addis Ababa)
October 8, 2006
Posted to the web October 9, 2006
ENA
Addis Ababa
The Ethiopian Airlines said it is taking part in backing foreign trade as well as saving foreign currency. With a view to meeting the increasing demand for cargo services, the airliner has had one of its Boeing 757 passengers' jet converted into cargo. The plane arrived here Friday carrying imports on the way.
The airlines told ENA yesterday that it transported a large volume of flowers and agricultural products to various countries during the last budget year.
According to the airlines, the amount transported during the reported period shows a 173 per cent increase compared to the previous year same period.
The airline also transported 7.5 million-kgs of meat during the first quarter of the current fiscal year, surpassing that of the same period last year by 27 per cent.
During the early months of the fiscal year, it also cargoed 5 million-kgs of fruits and vegetables.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Ethiopia: Team of Scientists Discovers 3.3 Mln-Old Fossil Fossil Named" Selam" to Reflect Its Ethiopian Origin
Dagnachew Teklu
Addis Ababa
A 3.3 million years old fossil of a baby girl have been discovered by a team of scientists, team leader Ethiopian Scientist Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged announced.
Briefing reporters on the historic discovery at the Ethiopian National Museum on Wednesday, Zeresenay said the monumental discovery was the result of a rigorous and rentless field research and laboratory investigation of an international and multidisciplinary paleoanthrropological research team- a team he leads.
The team of scientists led by Dr. Zeresenay is based the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany.
"Here we describe a well-preserved 3.3 million year Juvenile partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in the Dikika research area of the Ethiopia. The skull of the approximately three year old presumed female shows that most features diagnostic of the species are evident even at this early stage of development," Dr. Zeresenay said.
The scientist said. the fossil was found in the Afar regional state, located some 1,000 KM of the capital Addis Ababa, where various other fossils were found in the past years.
He added that it was the first time ever that a discovery of a girl as young as three years old was made in Ethiopa.
Alemseged further indicated that the fossil of the 3 years old girl, Selam was a most complete skeleton of a juvenile human ancestor ever found in the world.
"Though a baby, she is providing us with a unique account of our past," he told reporters at the press conference.
"Her completeness, antiquity, and age at death combined make this finding unprecedented in the history of paleoanthropology, and open many new researcher avenues to investigate the childhood of early human ancestors."
As a result of these huge and global research works carried out all over the world so far, 14 human and pre-human fossils have been uncovered out of which the 10 are discovered from Ethiopia, it was learnt.
"Today we are here to officially declare the new and extraordinary scientific discovery of a three year old girl died 3.3 million years ago from a research site located in the north-eastern Ethiopia called Dikika.This new finding has great contribution in addressing the question of our origin and advancing the frontier of science in this regard," Ethiopian Minister of Culture and tourism said during the launching of the discovery.
Addis Ababa
A 3.3 million years old fossil of a baby girl have been discovered by a team of scientists, team leader Ethiopian Scientist Dr. Zeresenay Alemseged announced.
Briefing reporters on the historic discovery at the Ethiopian National Museum on Wednesday, Zeresenay said the monumental discovery was the result of a rigorous and rentless field research and laboratory investigation of an international and multidisciplinary paleoanthrropological research team- a team he leads.
The team of scientists led by Dr. Zeresenay is based the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig, Germany.
"Here we describe a well-preserved 3.3 million year Juvenile partial skeleton of Australopithecus afarensis discovered in the Dikika research area of the Ethiopia. The skull of the approximately three year old presumed female shows that most features diagnostic of the species are evident even at this early stage of development," Dr. Zeresenay said.
The scientist said. the fossil was found in the Afar regional state, located some 1,000 KM of the capital Addis Ababa, where various other fossils were found in the past years.
He added that it was the first time ever that a discovery of a girl as young as three years old was made in Ethiopa.
Alemseged further indicated that the fossil of the 3 years old girl, Selam was a most complete skeleton of a juvenile human ancestor ever found in the world.
"Though a baby, she is providing us with a unique account of our past," he told reporters at the press conference.
"Her completeness, antiquity, and age at death combined make this finding unprecedented in the history of paleoanthropology, and open many new researcher avenues to investigate the childhood of early human ancestors."
As a result of these huge and global research works carried out all over the world so far, 14 human and pre-human fossils have been uncovered out of which the 10 are discovered from Ethiopia, it was learnt.
"Today we are here to officially declare the new and extraordinary scientific discovery of a three year old girl died 3.3 million years ago from a research site located in the north-eastern Ethiopia called Dikika.This new finding has great contribution in addressing the question of our origin and advancing the frontier of science in this regard," Ethiopian Minister of Culture and tourism said during the launching of the discovery.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Ethiopia: 'Lucy' to Go to USA
Ethiopia: 'Lucy' to Go to USA
By Dagnachew Teklu
Addis Ababa
'Lucy' aka 'Dinknesh', the famed paleontological discovery of human fossils dating back to 3.5 million years, will be traveling to the US, officials disclosed.
Ethiopian Culture and Tourism officials said Lucy's fossil will be taken to a museum in the US as part of the new national campaign recently launched to promote tourism Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambassador Mohammed Dirir, said the Lucy's exact date of departure was not yet decided but preparations are underway to finalize the necessary preparation.
According to Dirir, the country's share of receipts from global tourism remains meager.
He said the government's objective was to change this reality and place the country among the top 10 African destinations by 2020.
Lucy was found 24th of November 1974, at the site of Hadar, the Afar Regional State by archeologists Donald Johansson and Tom Gray on the.
The couple had taken a Land Rover out that day to map in another locality. After a long, hot morning of mapping and surveying for fossils, they decided to head back to the vehicle.
On their way back, Johansson suggested taking an alternate route back to the Land Rover, through a nearby gully.
Within moments, he spotted a right proximal ulna (forearm bone) and quickly identified it as a hominid. Shortly thereafter, he saw an occipital (skull) bone, then a femur, some ribs, a pelvis, and the lower jaw.
Two weeks later, after many hours of excavation, screening, and sorting, several hundred fragments of bone had been recovered, representing 40% of a single hominid skeleton.
By Dagnachew Teklu
Addis Ababa
'Lucy' aka 'Dinknesh', the famed paleontological discovery of human fossils dating back to 3.5 million years, will be traveling to the US, officials disclosed.
Ethiopian Culture and Tourism officials said Lucy's fossil will be taken to a museum in the US as part of the new national campaign recently launched to promote tourism Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ambassador Mohammed Dirir, said the Lucy's exact date of departure was not yet decided but preparations are underway to finalize the necessary preparation.
According to Dirir, the country's share of receipts from global tourism remains meager.
He said the government's objective was to change this reality and place the country among the top 10 African destinations by 2020.
Lucy was found 24th of November 1974, at the site of Hadar, the Afar Regional State by archeologists Donald Johansson and Tom Gray on the.
The couple had taken a Land Rover out that day to map in another locality. After a long, hot morning of mapping and surveying for fossils, they decided to head back to the vehicle.
On their way back, Johansson suggested taking an alternate route back to the Land Rover, through a nearby gully.
Within moments, he spotted a right proximal ulna (forearm bone) and quickly identified it as a hominid. Shortly thereafter, he saw an occipital (skull) bone, then a femur, some ribs, a pelvis, and the lower jaw.
Two weeks later, after many hours of excavation, screening, and sorting, several hundred fragments of bone had been recovered, representing 40% of a single hominid skeleton.
Labels:
Afar Regional State,
Dinknesh,
Lucy afra,
Lucy's fossil,
paleontological,
USA
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
