Ethiopian rose more popular

In the first nine months of 2007, about 2.5 billion roses were imported into the Netherlands, an increase by more than 11 percent relative to one year previously. The bulk (95 percent) were grown in Africa.

Kenya accounted for nearly 1.5 billion roses in the first three quarters of 2007. There is a distinct increase in the import of roses from Ethiopia. Over the period January-September 2007, the Netherlands has imported 295 million roses from Ethiopia, 2.5 times as many as in the same period in 2006. The top 5 of most important rose-growing countries in Africa also includes Zimbabwe, Uganda and Zambia.

Top 5 import countries of roses, January-September