By Olamide Tejuoso
When the news broke that the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal could experience shortage of rose flowers on Valentine’s Day. The next question was, why? Why on a Valentine’s Day eve?
According to the Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture, the decision to stop the import of fresh rose flowers was necessary in order to stop the possibility of diseases and insects infesting the vegetable products. The plant quarantine and pesticide management centre announced the ban, instructing subordinate border offices not to issue permits. It noted that fresh roses from countries like India and China would be prevented from entering the Asian country till further notice.
The Nepali government, in its notice, stated that roses cannot be imported from Kakadbhitta in the east to Gadda Chowki in the west and any customs points in the north, except for ‘special reasons’. Consequently, the Nepal Floriculture Association (NFA) has reported that the government’s decision caused a rose shortage for the last edition of Valentine’s Day.
According to the NFA, the country only produces about 20,000 pieces of rose flowers, out of about 300,000 sticks of rose flowers it sells on the special love day, hence, why the country relies heavily of imports.
