Dümmen Orange stops production of finished cut roses in Ethiopia

Left to right: Niels Pennings, Sales Manager Rose EU, Dümmen Orange; Frank Ammerlaan, Managing Director Rosa Plaza AQ Roses; Reinoud Hagen, Managing Director Cut Flowers, Dümmen Orange.

WESTLAND, Netherlands: Breeder Dümmen Orange has agreed to sell its cut rose nursery in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia, to AQ Roses. Dümmen Orange is thus saying goodbye to the production of roses in the African country and will once again focus on breeding and propagation. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The propagation site in Debre Zeit will continue to be run by Dümmen Orange. Reinoud Hagen, managing director of Cut Flowers at Dümmen Orange says, “This is a long-term commitment which is underlined by an investment we are going to make in heating and in expanding our capacity. Our existing show greenhouse will also remain located at the location in Debre Zeit.”

All production workers will be transferred from Dümmen Orange to AQ Roses. Those employees involved in breeding and propagation will continue to work at Dümmen Orange.

Noelia Mansilla, President EMEA at Dümmen Orange: “Since rose production is not Dümmen Orange’s core business, we strongly believe that we serve our clients best by focusing on breeding and propagation. The production is in good hands at AQ Roses.”

The roses from AQ Roses are sold in the Netherlands under the name Rosa Plaza. The company is managed by the Ammerlaan family. The family has many years of experience growing roses and started their 37-hectare rose nursery in Ziway, Ethiopia in 2006.

Frank Ammerlaan, Managing Director Rosa Plaza AQ Roses says, “The location that we are now taking over is at a higher altitude allowing us to grow roses with a larger bud size. From an operational perspective we can combine this well with the location we already had.”

Roses from Debre Zeit have already been marketed by Rosa Plaza in recent months. Ammerlaan expects that by closing this deal with Dümmen Orange, the cooperation between both companies will only become stronger in the future.