The New Zealand Flower Growers Association (NZFGA) wants imported flowers to be labelled as imports so consumers can make an informed choice about whether to buy them.

Chairman, David Blewden, says Kiwis can be short-changed when buying flowers because they don’t realise their purchases are often imported products.

“First of all, they are getting a product that will often have a much shorter vase life than the equivalent New Zealand grown flower.”

Blewden says imported flowers are already about 6 days old by the time they reach the retail florist. This compares to locally-sourced product which usually retails after only 2 days. “That is obviously going to shorten vase life.”

Secondly, some imported flowers are also dipped in Round Up for 20 minutes and fumigated before being sold in New Zealand.

That further affects vase life but more importantly it means buyers are handling product that may contain hazardous chemical residues.

“Consumers have a right to know what they are getting for their hard-earned dollar.

“If they are imports, it’s very likely they won’t perform as well as locally-sourced products and if Kiwis aren’t told that, they are being short-changed,” he said.

Just over 2 million roses were imported from India alone. That figure rose to over 3 million last year.

Flower marketing company, United Flower Growers, has introduced a policy to label all imported products that it sells.

The company states that any imported lines will be clearly identified to buyers by visual aid or at minimum, clear identification by its auctioneers. At wholesale, all imported product will carry an identifying sticker showing that product is an import.

The New Zealand Flower Growers Association is also considering providing its members with ‘100% NZ-grown’ stickers so the public can identify locally-produced flowers.

Source: NZ Flower Growers