Flower growers bank on Mother’s Day
Growers dumping flowers intended for export in the wake of the coronavirus are hoping for a Mother’s Day reprieve.
The export floral trade, worth $50-70 million, could wilt even if its main markets reopen soon because the cost of international freight has risen so steeply since the pandemic began.
Growers have already reported dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of flowers during lockdown but the industry warns worse may be yet to come.
Flower Exporters Association chairman Mike Desmond said uncertainty in overseas markets meant the problems were sure to continue long after lockdown eased. With 50 per cent of locally produced flowers heading overseas, the impact could be horrendous.
He said it may not be until borders opened to overseas tourists that freight prices would fall sufficiently to make exporting worthwhile.
‘‘There is light at the end of the tunnel and we have faith in our resilience. We will find a way but we don’t know the way yet.’’
Wairarapa’s Theo Van der Put, who grows gladioli and freesia for the domestic market, estimated his business had lost $150,000 of harvest from March alone. ‘‘For the lockdown to come right at the peak time really sucked.’’
They were pinning their hopes on an upswing of demand. ‘‘It’s going to be very tough but my gut feeling has been all the way through that there will still be a big demand for flowers.’’
He expected there would be weddings, funerals and people just wanting to express their love with flowers once the Covid-19 crisis was brought under control.
‘‘Mother’s Day is huge for us. We plant for Mother’s Day, we aim for it and we are hoping to be able to do a fair bit of business.’’