Campaign faces thorny issue of cheap imports
WHAT better way to show love for your valentine next week than with freshly picked roses?
Just one problem – the bunch you buy will almost certainly be grown a long way from home. In another country, in fact.
And your blooms will be all the poorer for it, keeling over far more quickly.
More than nine million rose stems ( or 750,000 bunches) were imported from Kenya and other countries last year. That accounts for about 90 per cent of the market in Australia.
It has prompted a campaign by Australian growers to urge all lovers celebrating Valentine’s Day next Wednesday to go local.
Growers concede it’s a thorny issue, with Australian grown roses costing more but lasting longer than imports.
The Australian Made campaign urges people to ask florists where their blooms are grown.
Grower and national wholesaler Floraco urged buyers to look for Australian Grown logos when buying roses.
Guy De Kok, the owner of the sixth- generation business, said people would be rewarded with a much longer vase life by paying between 20 and 40 per cent more for local blooms.
“Roses are a very intensive to grow with high labour and energy costs,” he said.
“The upside is the quality exceptional.
“Imported roses might be dead in two days but locally grown roses will still look good a week later.”
Mr De Kok said roses left his Western Australian business in sleeves clearly marked as Australian grown.
Further down the line, the logos might be taken off as they were repackaged or mixed with other blooms, he said.
Australian Made campaign chief Ian Harrison said while imports might be inferior, they still created a huge challenge for the local industry.
“Many consumers would be unaware of the proportion of fresh flowers being imported, because country- of- origin labelling is not mandated,” he said.
“If it’s fresh, Australiangrown flowers they’re after, we encourage shoppers to look for the famous Aussie logo, and in its absence, be sure to ask where the flowers were grown.” is