Ethiopian Airlines opened its new air cargo terminal, which is comparable to Amsterdam Schiphol, Singapore Changi, or Hong Kong terminals, according to Tewolde GebreMariam, CEO of the Ethiopian.
Airfreight annual throughput at Addis Ababa rose from 175,600 tonnes in 2014 to 211,700 last year while Nairobi volume fell from 259,100 to 231,700 tonnes in the same period, according to data from ICAO.
With a total area of 150,000 square meters, the new terminal handles one million tonnes sensitive products such pharmaceuticals, Life Science products and fresh flowers per annum.
Ethiopia is home to one of the largest rose farms in the world approximately three hours by truck from Addis Ababa. The Afriflora farm is next to Lake Ziway, at a height of 1,650 meter above sea level, in a greenhouse complex the size of 1,300 soccer fields. The farm grows over 65 different types of roses with around three to four million processed every day for export by air to the flower auction at Aalsmeer in the Netherlands.
The Ethiopian flower industry represents an extraordinarily fast and successful diversification into a non-traditional export product. The Ethiopian flower industry emerged in early 2000, and in 2016 it had become the fourth largest flower industry in the world. Projections are for even further future growth. Exports are expected to reach over $550 million in 2017.
Source: ET
