Bouquet of surprises: Kazakhstan returns 160,000 infected chrysanthemums to the Netherlands

The Ministry of Agriculture of Kazakhstan has discovered more than 159,000 chrysanthemums from the Netherlands infected with a fungal disease.

The State Inspection Committee of Kazakhstan discovered the presence of the Puccinia horiana fungus in sprigs of the imported flowers. This infestation causes the «white rust» disease, which mostly affects the leaves of the flower.

The inspectors collected samples of infected flowers and sent them to the Almaty Zonal Quarantine Laboratory, where the presence of fungus was confirmed. As a result, the flower owner was fined, and the infected products were returned to the Dutch supplier.

In a related development, Russia has recently introduced a ban on imports of cut flowers and buds from Kazakhstan. The ban enters into effect on Oct. 21. According to the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Supervision (Rosselkhoznadzor), 43 instances of the western flower thrips infestation were discovered in the flowers delivered from Kazakhstan between 2023 and 2024. The agency rates the alleged damage caused by the pest at $119.63 million.