Staff writer, with CNA
Moth orchid and anthurium cut flowers grown in Taiwan were yesterday cleared for export to New Zealand under an agreement that outlines measures local exporters need to follow to secure access to the market. The agreement was signed during a meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Joint Management Committee under a free-trade agreement between the two countries, the Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement. Under the deal, exporters must implement systematic management measures — including the use of clean growing media, disease-free seedlings and hanging yellow sticky traps — to control specific pests such as thrips and diseases such as bacterial wilt, the ministry said.
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency Deputy Director Huang Kuo-hsiu, right, signs an agreement with a New Zealand representative during a meeting of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Joint Management Committee yesterday.
Photo courtesy of Ministry of Agriculture
Traceable records must be kept throughout production, harvesting and transportation, it added. Before export, the cut flowers must be inspected to ensure compliance with New Zealand’s quarantine regulations, it said.
Producers and exporters are to receive training before each export season to ensure the measures are implemented smoothly, it said. Taiwan began preparing pest management and risk assessment data in 2022 as part of its proposal to export moth orchid and anthurium cut flowers to New Zealand, the ministry said. After nearly four years of technical consultations and responding to additional requests for information from New Zealand authorities, the agreement was finalized, it said. The deal would help expand overseas markets for Taiwan’s flower industry, the ministry said. Taiwan has also secured market access in New Zealand for dancing-lady orchid cut flowers, mangoes, lychees, pineapples, bird’s-nest ferns and monstera leaves, it said. Taiwan’s moth orchid exports totaled nearly US$150 million last year, with the flower’s major markets including Japan, Australia and the US, ministry data showed. About US$4.5 million of anthuriums were exported last year, primarily to Japan, Australia and Singapore, it showed.