Florist Christchurch New Zealand News

USA Flower Trade

New Zealand's multi-million dollar flower trade with America is in jeopardy after the discovery of an apple moth in a shipment from the South Island.

The US has now slapped a ban on all exports of New Zealand flowers and foliage, adding to the burden of Christchurch florists.

The light brown apple moth hitched a lift to California in a shipment of South Island flowers and could cost New Zealand's flower industry millions of dollars.

"Just on one shipment, on one crop. It was the eggs that were found," says Ed Scott of the New Zealand Flower Exporters Association.

That has thrown the New Zealand floriculture industry into disarray with the US putting a ban on all New Zealand flower and green foliage exports.

"It affects their horticulture crops and they have to spend a lot of money in their industry to eradicate it because it damages fruit," says Scott.

Orchid and peony growers will feel the hit first. It's midway through the orchid season while the first peony growers start exporting their flowers in just a few weeks.

"Its probably 60% of our exports from this business goes into the US. So it's looking like 60-70 thousand dollars worth of product at this stage," says Rodger Whitson, a peony grower & Christchurch florist.

That's the cost to Whitson's business alone and with the US market worth around $12 million a year to New Zealand it means financial uncertainty for all the country's export flower growers.

"And it's not just exporters, export growers, that are going to have a problem with this, it's local growers," says Whitson.

MAF say it's working with all organisations & Christchurch florists to try to lift the ban quickly.

"We'll be putting in a more precise risk management programme that will have checks right back at grower production level, then at packhouse and then at export level," says Peter Johnston, MAF bio-security adviser.

MAF hopes that will mean some indoor flower growers can be exporting again by mid-week. But for outdoor growers it could take months and wipe out the whole season's profits.