Ethiopia’s Floriculture Faces an Uphill Battle

When the United Kingdom left the European Union, it imposed new tariffs on imported goods, including flowers. However, many countries remained exempt from these tariffs due to existing trade agreements with the UK’s former EU partners. However, the exemption does not cover flowers from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda sent from European centers such as the Netherlands. Flowers from East Africa and shipped from such third countries faced an 8% tariff due to “rules of origin” agreed between the UK and the EU during Brexit.

In April 2024, the UK government suspended import duties on non-EU fresh flowers traded directly or indirectly through the EU. This suspension, which will last until June 2026 with a possible extension, has been hailed as a potential game changer for East African floriculture. With the removal of the eight per cent tariff, there was widespread optimism that East African flower exports to the UK would increase, freed from tariff burdens. Advocates of free trade celebrated this, arguing that the move could increase competition, optimize resources, stimulate investment, create jobs and increase the market share of East African floriculture.

For years, flowers from Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, often sold at auctions in the Netherlands, were subject to import duties. The suspension of this tax appeared likely to benefit East Africa’s major flower-growing regions, and many stakeholders in the industry saw it as a rare chance to expand exports and strengthen floriculture’s role in the region’s economy.

But despite this opportunity, the feeling of disappointment grows. Ethiopian Customs Authority data shows that in the period before the tariffs were suspended (8 July 2023 to 8 June 2024), East African flowers accounted for 7.8 per cent of the UK’s imported flower volume, worth approximately US$41 million. However, since the removal of the tariff, its market share has fallen, reaching only six percent in September 2024 and five percent in October 2024.

There is another disturbing trend: the number of East African flower producers and exporters serving the UK has declined. In 2023, between 6 and 10 percent of flower exporting companies in East Africa were operating in the UK market; so about four to six companies. However, by the end of 2024, only two or three companies are operating in the UK market, representing just three percent of exporters.

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This raises important questions. Despite the removal of the tariff, why are East African floriculture players unable to take advantage of this opportunity? Why do companies leave a newly opened market instead of evaluating its potential? These questions need urgent answers if East Africa is to reap the benefits of free trade and prevent this rare opportunity in floriculture from being squandered.

Why Is Ethiopia Struggling to Bloom in the UK Flower Market?

Reports show that, unlike Ethiopia, Kenya’s floriculture industry is growing following the temporary removal of the UK’s duty on flowers. Similarly, Uganda and Tanzania have gained significant benefits from tariff suspensions, gaining greater market access and increased competitiveness in the UK. This disparity has led to discussions about the factors that prevent Ethiopian flower growers from taking full advantage of this opportunity.

An exporter from Bishoftu, a major floriculture cluster in Oromia Region, highlighted a key hurdle: long-term sales contracts with UK retailers and supermarkets. These contracts, negotiated before the tariff suspension, fix prices and volumes based on outdated market conditions. The exporter said his company had spent the last seven months trying to renegotiate terms to reflect existing tariff benefits, but progress had been slow.

This logic is reasonable. While long-term contracts offer stability, they can also be rigid and leave companies unable to adapt to changing conditions. Such agreements could prevent Ethiopian exporters from renegotiating prices or increasing supply volumes to take advantage of tariff changes. Moreover, these contracts often fail to reflect the real-time dynamics of supply and demand, putting exporters at a disadvantage.

Another exporter operating in central Ethiopia noted that negotiating selling prices with UK retailers and supermarkets was resource intensive and often had negative results. The process of influencing buyers in different market segments is both time-consuming and costly, limiting small exporters from making significant progress.

Some flower farms in Ethiopia believe the UK’s suspension of tariffs primarily benefits African members of the Commonwealth with historical ties to Britain, such as Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Commonwealth members benefit from preferential trading arrangements, technical assistance and facilitated market access. As a non-Commonwealth country, Ethiopia lacks these advantages, making it difficult for its exporters to compete on a level playing field.

Kenya’s dominance of the UK flower market adds another layer of complexity. Kenyan growers had already saturated the UK market before the tariffs were suspended, leaving little room for new entrants. Moreover, more than 51 per cent of flower farms in Kenya are Fairtrade certified, a key requirement for access to UK retail chains. By contrast, only 12 percent of flower farms in Ethiopia have this certification, putting them at a distinct disadvantage. Fair trade certification ensures transparency, product traceability, environmental sustainability and fair labor practices, criteria that many Ethiopian farms have yet to meet.

Adding to Ethiopia’s challenges is the issue of re-exports. There is evidence that significant quantities of Ethiopian flowers were sold to neighboring countries and then re-exported to the UK under the guise of meeting certification requirements or circumventing trade restrictions. This practice allows middlemen to profit from the UK’s suspension of tariffs, while Ethiopian growers receive none of these benefits.

The consequences are clear: Ethiopia’s inability to directly access the UK market due to certification and other barriers leaves the floriculture sector at a disadvantage. The question remains: how can Ethiopia ensure that its flowers, which indirectly contribute to the UK market, provide fair benefits to growers? Overcoming these challenges is crucial for Ethiopia to regain its share of the global floriculture market and thrive in a competitive environment.

Mekonnen Solomon is horticultural export coordinator at the Ministry of Agriculture.

Contributed by Mekonnen Solomon