The New Zealand Flower Growers Association (NZFGA) has proposed that imported flowers be labelled, to distinguish them from locally grown products.

The association is also considering providing ‘100% NZ-grown’ stickers to its members, so that locally produced flowers can be identified by consumers.

David Blewden, NZFGA chairman, said that often consumers are not aware that the flowers that they are purchasing are imported.

Imported flowers are often about six days old by the time they reach the retail florist, when locally grown flowers are usually on the shelf after only two days.

“This means they are getting a product that will often have a much shorter vase life than the equivalent New Zealand-grown flower.”

Imported flowers may also be dipped in Round Up and fumigated before being sold in NZ, which means buyers are handling products that may contain hazardous chemical residues, Blewden said.

“Consumers have a right to know what they are getting for their hard-earned dollar,” he said.

“If they are imports, it’s very likely they won’t perform as well as locally-sourced products and if Kiwis aren’t told that, they are being short-changed.”

United Flowers Growers, a flower marketing company, has introduced a policy to label all imported products.

It said that imported lines will be clearly identified to buyers, with wholesale products carrying a sticker labelling the product as imported.

Last year more than three million roses were imported from India alone, up from more than two million in 2012.

As at August 2014, 2.7 million stems had been imported in the year to date.