Rwanda’s leading flower producer, Bella Flowers, has been advised to focus on producing fresh flowers and, alternatively, plastic flowers for the local market to cut down on its losses.
Bella Flower is a government strategic investment project and is under the National Agricultural Export Development Board (NAEB) with an aim to boost the floriculture industry.
The project, registered in 2014, started with funding of Rwf2.2 billion (in phases) and later got a Rwanda Development Bank (BRD) loan worth Rwf4.3 billion to put the irrigation systems and equipment, among others. The company started production of cut roses in July 2016 on 6 hectares, and the Auditor General’s report of 2022 shows that Bella Flowers Ltd had been making losses since it started operations.
For instance, 6 months to June 30, 2021, the company made sales of Rwf3,662,806 and incurred a cost of sales of Rwf3,014,988 (an 18% gross profit margin ratio); and 6 months to June 30, 2022, Bella flowers sold Rwf2,188,571 but incurred costs of sales of Rwf2,963,235-( a 35% gross profit margin ratio).
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