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Import struggles cause ridiculous rose prices in NZ

Red roses are the traditional flower of Valentine’s Day, but this year the gesture will be a pricey one with not as many roses to go around. Flowers on the Hilltop in West Auckland are advertising a dozen long-stemmed red roses for $210.

The Petals Network has 36 red roses for sale at $467. A Wellington florist has its stems for $19 each but warns that they are shorter than usual at 40cm rather than 60cm because of recent hot weather.

Auckland commercial rose grower Joanne Hurley ​said the usual imports from Kenya and Colombia were not flowing into New Zealand. “Most people don’t realize that the long-stemmed red roses for sale now are imported and this means with costs rising and supply restricted, prices to customers goes up,” Hurley said. “There is political unrest in Colombia, too, so that supply really is drying up at the moment.”

Roses grown in New Zealand in summer tended to have short stems and small heads, she said, unlike what was produced in other climates for Valentine’s Day. “If we had Valentine’s Day in December there would be an abundance of large blooms.”

Read the complete article at www.stuff.co.nz.

 

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