Love is in the air at Auckland International Airport, as Valentine's Day arrivals and imports flood the terminal.
The popularity of romancing a loved one with a beautiful bouquet of roses on Valentine’s Day shows no sign of waning, with February being the biggest month for rose imports at Auckland Airport.
Last February 30 tonnes of roses flew into AKL, with imports largely sourced from two main origin countries Colombia (14 tonnes) and India (13 tonnes).
“You can’t go past the classic bouquet of roses for Valentine’s Day, and looking at the data, that’s what was winning the hearts of Kiwis last year,” said Auckland Airport Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker.
“These are time-sensitive products, that arrive in New Zealand in the belly hold of aircraft, supporting florists all around the region to fill orders during the month of February.
"Roses and chrysanthemums are the two most popular imported flowers, but the Auckland Airport air cargo system is also really busy supporting New Zealand growers to get their high-value flowers to the world. On the global market, last February 11 tonnes of hydrangeas were exported, as well as roses and paeony blooms, among the 15 tonnes of flowers that headed offshore.”
AKL’s top export destinations for flowers in February 2024 were the United States of America (five tonnes), Japan (three tonnes) and Hong Kong (three tonnes).
“But for local growers it’s really a story of seasonality. The peak month for flower exports last year was August when 91 tonnes, mostly orchids (88 percent), flew to international markets. Air connectivity, particularly in the belly hold of passenger aircraft, opens up opportunities to get fresh, seasonal flowers out into overseas markets particularly in the cooler Northern Hemisphere months when seemingly out of season flowers can command premium prices,” said Tasker.
NZ Bloom, flower exporter and importers, Managing Director David Ballard said New Zealand has a good position globally as a southern hemisphere producer of quality flowers.
“There are a number of talented growers in New Zealand and we connect them to the whole world. In addition, New Zealand florists need a range of flowers, more than what’s produced in New Zealand. So, flowers are imported to broaden out that range for New Zealand consumers,” added Tasker.
“We’re trying to get thousands of boxes out to hundreds of wholesalers all around the world in very narrow time frames – just a few days. A wholesaler could be in the middle of America or they could be deep in China or in the Middle East. They all want a particular colour or something special. So our logistics management throughout all of the process, and the airport and the air freight is really important.”
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