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Locally exported maire leis to Hawaii has been suspended, acording to the Ministry of Agriculture Secretary Nga Mataio.
The reason he explained is that Hawaiian importer Dave Thompson of MEAPacific Traders has requested the temporary stop because there was not enough supply to meet the demand.
Its understood women on the three islands of Mangaia, Mauke and Mitiaro, where the maire plant thrives are unable to keep up with the demand and Thompson in a recent meeting with industry suppliers called for more workers to pick the strands to produce the leis.
Thompson currently pays suppliers $NZ9.00 for a lei, which is paid to suppliers a few days after the leis are received in Hawaii.
Exporting maire to Hawaii began in the I980s and has been the livelihood of many women on the three islands. Suppliers were then paid 50 cents per string and later increased to $5.
The highest number of maire les exported was 44,323 for the three islands in 2001.
It dropped to a projected twelve and half thousand in 2005 with an estimated revenue loss of about NZ$100,000.
Source: Govmedia
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