VCI Ethiopia has started in 2011 the tissue culture laboratory in Debre Zeit in Ethiopia. The laboratory is a joint venture with Olij Roses Ethiopia PLC. The annual production capacity of the laboratory is around 7-8 million plants. Next to the micro propagation activity we will have more than 1 hectare of greenhouse facilities for hardening the plants.
VCI Ethiopia has specialized herself in the large scale production of pathogen-free plant material through the tissue culture technique for both export and also domestic market. The export crops will be among others: Lilium, Gerbera, Perennials and Bedding plants. For the domestic market VCI will start with Banana, Pineapple, Potato and Sugar-cane.
Well over 20 years of know-how and experience is present in the company, since there is a close cooperation with VCI Nederland BV in the Netherlands. There is a substantial involvement from VCI Nederland and the Ethiopian laboratory can take advantage of the support and guidance from Dutch specialists and will use the in-house developed Quality Manufacturing System (QMS)