Flowers from New Zealand
by Barry Marshall on January 26th
There has been a continued increase in New Zealand's exports of cut flowers and other crops and this is forecast to continue to grow at a fast pace. It has reached to approximately $64 million. Japan buys over 80% of the exports as New Zealand exports a variety of commercially grown cut flowers.
In current years, the exports of orchids, calla lilies, and sander Sonia flowers have greatly increased whilst exports of flowers such as chrysanthemums and roses have dramatically decreased. The cut flowers are commercially grown throughout New Zealand as the weather and soil conditions are suitable for the particular exotic types of flower grown. Nearly 50% of the production is in South Auckland and the Bay of Plenty. Here, large greenhouses are used to produce cut flowers which means they are less reliant on natural weather and climate conditions.
Other factors that have to be taken into consideration are access to international airports for exporting the flowers or the cost of energy for heating the greenhouses to allow the flowers to grow in the best possible conditions. Commercial growers are finding that the flowers from New Zealand are competing with imported products as the demand for exotic cut flowers becomes more important to the floral industry.
There are certain flowers that do not ship well or cannot handle being packed in a box for a long period of time. These flowers can be picked by a local grower and be in the buyer's house in the same day. By producing unusual, exotic, high quality flowers, using commercial techniques, growers can continue to widen markets for speciality cut flowers.
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