October 30, 2025
In early August 2025, a powerful storm tore through Bishoftu’s flower belt, dealing a heavy blow to Ethiopia’s floriculture industry. Torrential rains, strong winds, and hail battered about ten farms in the area, wiping out close to 100 hectares of flowers, roughly 40 percent of the cultivated land in one of the country’s most productive growing zones. The damage, estimated at more than $100 million, has left farmers and exporters reeling as they assess losses and struggle to recover from what many describe as the worst weather event the region has seen in years.
The four-hour storm ravaged greenhouses and crops, halting operations across eight farms primarily dedicated to floriculture. The Ministry of Agriculture swiftly launched damage assessments and formed a technical team following a visit by State Minister Sofia Kassa, with officials urging the Ministry of Finance to grant duty-free import privileges to aid recovery. These measures aim to facilitate access to essential fixed assets, raw materials, and capital goods necessary to rebuild shattered farms.
Mekonnen Solomon, the Ministry’s horticulture export coordinator, emphasized the stakes: the sector risks losing the equivalent of 15 percent of its expected foreign exchange revenue for the 2025/26 fiscal year and suffering long-term reputational damage if recovery efforts are delayed. Buyers from major markets such as the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the US maintain stringent quality standards, and any lapse could jeopardize Ethiopia’s hard-won export relationships.
Among the hardest hit was Joytech Plc, which lost 15 hectares of crop, a one-hectare greenhouse, and a cutting-edge tissue culture lab. It faces reconstruction under tight timelines, contingent on swift government support. Vegpro Flower Farm Plc reported even more drastic losses, with over 95 percent of its 26-hectare farm destroyed, leading to suspended production and idle workers.
Industry leaders and advisors are calling for urgent government action, including duty-free import status and extended voucher periods for raw materials, to prevent the sector from losing market footholds and endangering thousands of jobs. Tax policy experts highlight the need for targeted value-based exemptions to compensate for this natural disaster, which was beyond farm management’s control.
The crisis exposed the vulnerability of the Eastern Rift Valley’s floriculture hub to intense seasonal winds, notably the Somali Low-Level Jet phenomenon, along with failures in early weather warning systems that might have mitigated the damage. Experts advocate for strengthened climate resilience planning to protect the sector moving forward.
Ethiopia’s floriculture industry, comprising roughly 70 farms and spanning 1,600 hectares, ranks as one of the country’s top foreign exchange earners after gold and coffee. As recovery efforts unfold, stakeholders remain hopeful that timely government intervention will help the flower belt restore its place in international markets without compromising quality or reliability.