Invest in horticulture–private sector asked

Production of horticultural products for the international market is still low, Peter Muvara, the chairman of the national horticulture taskforce said. He is therefore advising investors to exploit the sector saying it’s still virgin and has great potential.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Production of horticultural products for the international market is still low, Peter Muvara, the chairman of the national horticulture taskforce said. He is therefore advising investors to exploit the sector saying it’s still virgin and has great potential.

Muvara cited that Holland wants 100 metric tonnes of flowers but the country has no capacity to supply. He added that the Middle East also is interested in red pepper from Rwanda.

Muvara  said investors are hesitant to pump their money in horticulture partly because there is no information about the sector. He however said that they are soon building a data bank about the sector as survey is being carried out.

Statistics indicate that the country exports 3 to 10 metric tonnes of horticultural products weekly. About $0.7m (Frw378m) was earned from the sector in 2005 while in 2006, the earnings increased to $2.5m (Frw1.4b).

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