Moss exporting gathers pace

Press, 22 January 1982, Page 8

Moss exporting gathers pace

Sphagnum moss, which grows wild in New Zealand swamps, is sought after by Japanese gardeners.

Several New Zealand companies export the moss to Japan where it is used as a growing medium for orchids and for lining hanging planter baskets.

The West Coast of the South Island, with its high rainfall and swampy areas, provides ideal growing conditions for the moss. A study of the economics and growth patterns of the moss on the Coast is being done by two University of Canterbury students. Mr Richard Leggat and Mr Tim Denne. with assistance from the New Zealand Forest Service and Lands and Survey Department.

The results of this study will show whether the moss could play an important part in the economy of the Coast.

Indications are that the moss will regrow after harvesting which opens up the possibility of management of moss-producing areas, according to Mr Bruce Watson, a senior forester at the Hokitika Conservancy.

The study is also looking at the relative value of moss compared with other traditional West Coast land uses such as forestry and farming. New Zealand has exported moss to Japan for the last 12 to 15 years, but it is only in the last two to three years that major development of moss exporting has taken place.

Turners and Growers, a fruit and produce company with its head office in Auckland. exports two or three containers of moss each month through its Christchurch office.

The moss grows in long, bushy runners up to two feet

long and is harvested largely by hand, although some pickers are experimenting with tractors. Good quality dried moss is at least six inches long, coloured a light cream and shows a faint green tinge at the tip.

Once harvested, about 92 per cent of the total weight is water and this means that one tonne of wet moss will be reduced to approximately 80 kilos after drying, said Mr Warwick Westlake. of Turners and Growers in Christchurch.

The moss can be dried in many ways, a typical method being to place it on chicken netting which is covered by a corrugated iron roof. Wind is considered one of the best (and cheapest) drying agents and excessive direct sunshine can bleach and discolour the moss.

Systems using forced air

are being developed to dry the moss. Some companies buy wet moss and dry it in special drying plants ■ or tobacco-drying kilns.

Freshly harvested moss usually contains quite a bit of other plant matter such as gorse and beech leaves, which must be removed to prevent the moss being downgraded. This is easiest done by hand when half dry.

Japan produces 70 to 75 per cent of its total requirement of moss and imports the remainder from New Zealand. Australia, mainland China and Canada.

The quality of the New Zealand moss compares favourably with that exported by other countries, said Mr W. D. Ashton, the export marketing officer with Turners and Growers in Auckland. who recently

visited Japan to look at moss marketing. Prospects for the continu-

ing export of New Zealand moss look good, provided the present high standard is maintained, said Mr Ashton.

Moss is packaged for export in wool bales. Care must be taken not to damage the moss by packing it too tight so Turners and Growers restrict the weights to 40 kilos, although most bales do not exceed 25 kilos.

This year the company will package some moss in Ikg bags for selling direct to the Japanese householder under the brand name "King Kiwi."

Moss is also harvested from other parts of New Zealand, including the Invercargill and Te Anau regions. Northland. King Country and Taranaki. Moss from drier areas is darker in colour and not suitable for export.