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Ten prominent businesspeople engaged in flower farms
are planning to venture in developing a vineyard and
establish wineries, forming a new company two weeks
ago, Ethio Grapes SC, with a capital of one million
Birr.
The company is formed by Tsegaye Abebe, shareholder
of Ethio Flora Plc and president of the Ethiopian
Horticultural Association; Solomon Sebhatu,
shareholder of Menagesha Flower Plc; Endale Yirga,
shareholder of the Kangaroo Business Group; Seife
Bedada, shareholder of Dire Industrial Group;
Michael Asres, shareholder of Summit Flower Plc;
Yidnekachew Ayele, shareholder of Minaye Plc
(importer of Deluxe Furniture); Tadele Abreha,
shareholder of Green Coffee Plc; and Tesfalidet
Hagos, board chairman of Ethio Grapes and
shareholder of Luna Export Slaughterhouse Plc.
"All of us in this company know each other,"
Tesfalidet told Fortune. "We hope this to be
a model business for further investments."
The new company's first venture will be an
investment of 200 million Br, to develop a vineyard
and farm on a 1,000hct leased plot, to be made
available by the administration of Tigray Regional
State. Of the total plot promised by the Regional
State, Ethio Grapes has begun work on 400hct. Moges
Mesfin, head of the Tigray Region Investment Office,
confirmed that this is the largest amount of land
ever divvied out in the State.
"We are happy with the company's active moves,"
Moges told Fortune.
The Tigray Region is primarily chosen due to its
environmental suitability for grape production as
its climate is closer to that found by the
Mediterranean Sea, said company sources.
Allocating a preliminary budget for the
compensations required for the residents, the State
has arranged two suitable sites for the company to
choose; a plot stretching from the Mekele
International Airport to the town, or on the road
from Mekele to Wikro town.
Ethio Grapes is interested in designing a business
model following the French Castel Group's lead in
penetrating both domestic and international markets,
disclosed a source.
Established 50 years ago, Castel has established a
reputation in international markets, specialising in
wine, mineral water, beer and soft drinks bottling.
The Group has secured, six months ago, a 200hct plot
from the Privatisation and Public Enterprises
Supervising Agency (PPESA), in a bid to expand its
farm in three years and install a plant with a
project cost of 10 million dollars. Castel took the
plot from the state-owned Ziway Agricultural
Development, located in the Oromia Regional State.
The new entrant, Ethio Grapes, is importing
seedlings, which will be planted on 100hct of land.
It is planning to produce edible grapes in its early
phases and install a vineyard later on, Tesfalidet
told Fortune.
Other investments developing vineyards are underway
in the Rift Valley (Oromia Region and Dire Dawa) as
similar climates show potential.
Luna Fruit, a subsidiary of Luna Export Slaughter
Plc, has received 100hct of land in East Shoa Zone,
near Koka, while Elfora has 15hct of land in Meki,
and Almeta grabbed 100hct in Koka.
According to an agricultural expert, except for the
edible grapes that Ziway produces for domestic
consumption, they were not widely farmed in
Ethiopia. The aggregate size of these plots is
dwarfed by South Africa where there are 70,000hct of
land covered by edible grape plantations; while in
Egypt the same sector covers 40,000hct.
"The ongoing effort to invest in the industry would
blossom like the new bud of a flower," said the
expert.
The companies now invested in edible grape farms in
Ethiopia brought the hybrid from South Africa, and
are expected to export their yields in three years.
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