At Esmeralda Farms’ farm in Ethiopia, protestors destroyed tractors, trucks, containers, and the packaging hall, along with irrigation pumps and the company’s greenhouses. “Everything is gone,” according to Director Loui Hooijman, who traveled to the country 24 times last year to set up operations. During those trips, he found Ethiopia to be “one of the most peaceful countries in Africa,” he wrote in a statement.
Esmeralda Farms BV in Holland has closed its doors and laid off its employees as of Sept. 6. The late-breaking news comes after a devastating attack by anti-government protestors on the company’s farm in Ethiopia.
According to Bloomberg News, a large group “invaded Esmeralda Farms Inc.’s farm 13 kilometers (8 miles) south of Bahir Dar city in the Amhara region on Aug. 29, causing about 7 million euros ($7.8 million) of damage. Flower farms in the area owned by Israeli, Italian, Indian and Belgian companies were among nine commercial properties damaged in the protests.”
“They were so aggressive, there were also soldiers who couldn’t control them, so we just ran away, as it’s life or death,” Esmeralda’s country manager Haile Seifu told Bloomberg. “They came actually at once through our compound, through our fence, through our main gate, so everybody left.”
Only one person was injured in the attack, according to a statement by Director Loui Hooijman, who put the damage estimate at 10 million euros. Hooijman writes that Esmeralda started activity in Ethiopia in 2014, with the first 25 hectares coming into production in 2015. The farm grew mainly spray roses and gypsophila. About 30 to 40 percent of Esmeralda Farms’ flowers came from Ethiopia. There were three shipments of flowers from Ethiopia to Aalsmeer, in Holland, per week.
“The tractors, trucks, containers, packaging hall, all are burned,” wrote Hooijman, noting that, last year he traveled to the country 24 times to start up the farm. “All irrigation pumps are damaged… and expect the film greenhouses have also suffered major damage. Everything is gone.”
According to its website, Esmeralda also has growing operations in Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Mexico and Peru.
At press time, Maja Buljovcic, marketing coordinator of Connectaflor, which distributes the Esmeralda brand in North America, said she didn’t have much information beyond the company’s initial statement.
“We don’t have any further information other than what is released and the fact that due to the problem, Esmeralda has closed the Holland operation and those customers who were purchasing product through Esmeralda Holland are now purchasing from the farm in Ecuador directly,” Buljovcic said.
The company has a long, rich history in the floral industry. Peter Ullrich, former CEO and president of Esmeralda Farms Inc., passed away on June 29 surrounded by loved ones after a difficult battle with cancer. In 1972, Ullrich was one of the first growers to establish a presence in Latin America opening Flores Esmeralda in Medellin, Colombia.
