The Ethiopian Horticulture Development Agency (EHDA) is drafting a new export management directive, which is expected to take effect this month that changes the unit of measurement of flowers to kilograms as opposed to stems in calculating repatriated foreign exchange.
For this purpose, the draft has changed the unit of measurement of flowers which is estimated after counting those in selected sample boxes.
However, this has opened a door for abuse because the sample stem taken might not represent the type of flower in all boxes and hence will have an effect on the repatriated amount, according to the agency.
It will also affect the quality of the product for if the package is opened the flowers will damage easily. Out of 120 horticulture producing and exporting enterprises, of which 65pc of them are engaged in the production of roses, 90pc of them are supported by the loans from the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE).
If an exporter does not repatriate the correct amount based on the reported amount, it will not be allowed to export the next batch. The Ethiopian Flowers Producers & Exporters Association is trying very hard to stop this directive from passing with the change in measurement.
Source: Allafrica