A Japanese company on Monday announced plans to bring genetically modified blue roses to market in 2009, saying the flowers will appeal to the luxury gift giver.

Suntory Ltd., known largely as a whisky distillery, and Australian researchers created the blue roses, which have a slight purplish hue, in a 14-year project. In 2004, researchers unveiled the blue flowers, explaining they had inserted the gene responsible for the blue pigment in pansies into the traditionally red flowers.

Suntory Ltd. announced on Monday plans to bring blue roses to market in 2009.
(Suntory Ltd.)

Kazumasa Nishizaki told AFP the company aims to sell several hundreds of thousands of blue roses a year.

"As its price may be a bit high, we are targeting demand for luxurious cut flowers, such as for gifts," he said. The exact price and commercial name for the blue rose have not been decided.

Suntory also developed the world's first blue carnations — dubbed Moondust — which have been sold in Japan since 1997.