China meat delay resolved

Rural News

Primary Industries Minister scalds his ministry after resolving China meat dispute; says their error caused the problem

23rd May 13, 4:08pm by David Hargreaves

<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/">Image sourced from Shutterstock.com</a>

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says the dispute involving exports of meat to China has been resolved - and he has laid the blame for the problem firmly at the feet of his own ministry.

Guy said authorities in China should begin clearing New Zealand meat exports from next week.

"Chinese authorities have agreed they will begin releasing consignments under the name of the New Zealand Food Safety Authority," he said.

"Officials are working around the clock to reissue certificates for all the meat consignments that are held up at ports or on the water. "This is positive news for farmers and exporters after what has been a frustrating time."

Guy said that the Ministry of Primary Industries had now revealed that the delay occurred because the ministry had provided certification to China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) in a format which the Chinese authority had not yet approved, and in doing so caused confusion for Chinese inspectors.

"I am very disappointed in the Ministry for Primary Industries for its mistakes in certification which have caused this delay."

Guy also said MPI officials had also "let themselves down in two further ways": by not informing Ministers of the scale and seriousness of this issue early enough, and in being too slow to provide information on exactly why this problem occurred.

"The Director-General of MPI first informed Food Safety Minister Nikki Kaye and I of this issue on Tuesday 14 May. However, the size of this issue was not made clear until I began receiving calls from the meat industry on Friday 17 May.

“After making my own inquiries it became apparent the issue was bigger than what officials had been telling me so I called the officials in for an explanation on Saturday morning.

"I'm disappointed it has taken so long to get to the bottom of this problem and for the Ministry to come up with a proper explanation. This has been frustrating for myself, the public and meat exporters.

"Overall we have a strong system and a mistake like this is highly unusual. I have given the Director-General of MPI clear instructions to ensure this does not happen again," Guy said.

He said that accurately certifying exports of New Zealand agricultural goods was a core function for the Ministry "and this mistake should never have occurred".

"Officials have a responsibility to meat exporters and to all New Zealanders to get the basic details right."

Guy said he was grateful to the Chinese authorities for their willingness to work constructively with New Zealand officials to find a way through this administrative error. He was also grateful to the New Zealand meat industry for their patience.

"At the moment our number one priority is ensuring the product gets off the wharf and onto the plates of Chinese consumers as quickly as possible."

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9 Comments

by xingmowang | 23rd May 13, 8:41pm 1369298498

Chinese market - the last saviour for NZ's red meat sector?

by Andrewj | 24th May 13, 7:55am 1369338912

As a sheep and beef farmer, Im feeling very threatened by our dependence on one market. I see even beef sales to China are hitting new records, so whats happened to our traditional markets? Sheep meat without China would be a catastrophe, a whole way of life in NZ, wiped out. Beef and dairy are heading the same way.

I think I need to factor a new risk into my farming, uncertain markets and conditions, always.

So do you think we had to 'grease a few palms' some 'buckshee' to get our meat in, or do you think it was a genuine problem? Is Zespris problem a common occurance and do we need to learn how to deal with the problem of corruption, in our markets?

Were you both around during the Cultural Revolution ? If so how does it affect your view of the West?

by Christov | 24th May 13, 8:46am 1369341961

Alright class,let's put all our eggs in this basket over here.....and see if we can make self detonating time bomb..!

What is truly revolting here A.J. ,is the Minister transfering all blame to the N.Z. end of the connection for fear of upseting the Candy men, the new best friends.

Just trot me out an official to grease and lick, as we're all Congeniality Ministers, except for Joyce, he's for ahhh when they like it rough.

And the Uriah Heep award for handwringing, bowing,butt licking, , ........goes once again to New Zealand.....runners up, Cyprus.

by Colin Riden | 24th May 13, 11:40am 1369352431

My sympathies are with Nathan Guy on this one. He has a ministry that badly needs an injection on both competence and integrity. I don't blame him for being unhappy.

“After making my own inquiries it became apparent the issue was bigger than what officials had been telling me so I called the officials in for an explanation on Saturday morning."

Misleading your minister is not a good idea. But worse, if MPI officials are prepared to mislead their minister, what does that say about how they treat the rest of us?

Can we trust anything MPI produces?

by Stephen Hulme | 24th May 13, 11:45am 1369352736

Who misled ministers in the Solid Energy disaster? - who is meant to oversee who?- is this outfit announcing immediate departures of responsible persons?- or do we look elsewhere before the next National Government ambulance at the bottom of the cliff episode?

by glennb | 24th May 13, 11:13am 1369350816

we use to have a similar dependancy on the UK.

I think the situation is different. No longer do we have farmer subsidies and SMPs in NZ. No longer to be have preferencial tarrif treatment in the importing country. So the current export scenario to China is not so much built on a false structures.

But ... I am a little anxious about the central control the Chinese govt has over it's imports and their past politically drivien and irresponsible attitudes to international markets - do you remember them threatening to ruin the US economy by dumping their US bond holdings?

Given the relatively (in their eyes) small amount of product they import from NZ, I'm concerned that if we don't play the right game, they can easily put a blanket ban on our goods for spurious reasons.

by Wolly | 24th May 13, 6:50am 1369335041

Clearly the ministry staff are not being paid enough and they must be overworked and in need of many new staff and the bosses really really ought to receive incentive bonuses......right.

by xingmowang | 24th May 13, 10:09am 1369346975

Could not agree more!

by starfish1 | 24th May 13, 10:32am 1369348321

What has happened here is no different to what the Australian or New Zealand governments would do if the goods were coming from China to our shores. If the paperwork does not match up with the permits then the product cannot be released. If the name is different or one piece of information is not the same as what they have on file then the product will be stopped. New Zealand and Australia do it every day on our biosecurity checks. Anything out of place and the shipment is stopped from entering. The Chinese are now doing what we have been doing for years but they are now taking the same strict approach. This will nto be the last time that product gets stopped. Other Asian countries are also requesting more information on products before they are released into their countries. Whether this is sign of more trade protectionism or just a tighening of importation requirements which were once easy to get through only time will tell.