Opportunities In Exporting Nursery Stock And Flowers

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30677, 17 February 1965, Page 8

Opportunities In Exporting Nursery Stock And Flowers

(From Our Own Reporter) AUCKLAND, February 16. “There is an undeniable future for the export of nursery stock and flowers. We must seize the opportunity now to make the most of our chance,” Mr S. Challenger, of Lincoln College, told the Science Congress today.

“The production of nursery stock and cut flowers within New Zealand is commonly regarded as of minor or no importance; the potential of these crops as producers of overseas funds has been given scant consideration by the economists,” Mr Challenger said.

“The industry must be adequately developed within New Zealand to supply the background know-how which exporting requires,” he said.

“This stage is rapidly being reached, but there is little incentive to look at export when our home market is

inadequately supplied,” said Mr Challenger. There had in response to increased demand, been a quite large increase in the nursery trade within New Zealand.

Nursery members had risen from just more than 400 in 1956 to 555 today, with an increase in acreage from 1300 to 1800.

The retail value of nursery stock in New Zealand in 1963 was about £4,500,000. Statistics in regard to cut flowers were less easy to obtain, but the value in 1963 was about £2,500,000. Mainly Part-Time

The industry was mainly part-time even in Christchurch, probably the most important flower-growing centre.

Because of the distance of markets and the need for living plants and cut flowers to be transported quickly, air transport was strongly indicated for export lines in this field, he said. This meant that the best prospects for export nursery stock were in small growing on lines of very high value. “We must be willing to look outside our generally accepted range of nursery crops to those which exploit either our climatic advantage or our particular stock varieties,” he said.

American Market There was for example, an unsatisfied demand from America for azaleas as growing lines at prices exceeding returns for grown plants. “The Californian coast, with its cultivated flora so close to our own, otters prospects to the grower of Australian

' and South African plants,” he I said. “We grow a wonderful • range of bulbs, some of them • in quite short supply else--1 where. America imports vast quantities of bulbs from Holland. Why not from New Zea- , land? x “For various reasons, Aus- . tralia has little use to us as a market for nursery stock. ’ This situation can only be • tackled at the political level. ; The Sydney flower market, • however, has a potential . which could vastly increase ; the size of our industry.” Before the export potential ; of nursery and cut-flower ■ material could be fully ex- - plotted, Mr Challenger said, . attention would have to be i paid to stock health schemes, . grading, dispatch, and cheaper ; production methods. Changes In System , A semi-governmer.tal body ' might have to replace the auctioneer. There must be adequate official encouragei ment to the grower. i Research was needed into ■ such matters as prolonging ; the transit lives of flowers and plants, the influence of i growing techniques on weight i and longevity, means of i storage, and packing and i transit methods.