The government has banned the import of roses ahead of Valentine’s Day which witnesses a surge in sales of the flower.

The Plant Quarantine and Pesticide Management Centre issued a notice on Thursday, directing all 15 offices under it not to issue import permits until further notice.

“All have been informed not to issue permits until further notice due to a special reason,” reads the diktat issued by the centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development.

Mahesh Chandra Acharya, information officer of the centre, said that the import of roses has been banned due to the risk of plant-related diseases.

“There are chances that insects causing plant-related diseases make entry along with the flowers. In the past, we had restricted the import of marigolds even during Tihar,” said Acharya. “The import ban will not continue for a long run”.

Traders say almost 80 percent of the requirement for red roses is fulfilled through imports.

According to the Floriculture Association Nepal, demand for long-stem red roses explodes to 150,000 stems on Valentine’s Day. The most local flower growers can come up with is 30,000-40,000 stems, and the rest have to be imported from India. Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata are the largest suppliers of red roses to Nepal.