International flower companies are fleeing Ethiopia because of a worsening conflict in the northwestern Amhara region, a key flower-growing hub, dealing a blow to one of the country's major exports.
Germany's Selecta One this month said it would move production from its Kunzila site in Amhara to neighboring Kenya and Uganda, saying "the unstable political situation and the uncertain military environment were the main reasons for this decision." The company, which began operations in Ethiopia in 2021, is also laying off more than 1,000 local employees due to the two-year war between the Ethiopian government and Fano, a loose collection of militias.
The fighting comes amid fears of a wider regional war as tensions rise in the nearby northern region of Tigray: Fano earlier fought alongside the Ethiopian army and Eritrean forces, against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, during Tigray's 2020-2022 civil war.
The firm is following in the footsteps of other horticultural companies including two Dutch-owned firms, Tal Flower Farms and Tana Flora, that left Amhara last year following incidents of looting and arson. "There are many companies that have suspended their operation in Amhara," Tewodros Zewdie, executive director of the Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association (EHPEA), told Semafor, pointing to three other Dutch-owned firms — Abyssinia Flowers, Dutch Flower Group, and Alpha Flora — that suspended production in 2024.
Read more at Semafor Africa