Agreement reached for China meat exports to restart
Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy has announced that an agreement has been reached in Beijing last night to ensure that New Zealand meat exports to China can resume on a normal basis, starting later today.
"The resolution is comprehensive and will allow normal trade to resume using NZFSA certification, including for product currently in storage, or en route to China,” says Mr Guy.
“This is an important step in resuming trade, now that containers are moving off the wharves and the backlog is clearing.
"It has also been agreed that New Zealand and Chinese officials will work together over the next month on new meat certificates which will allow reliable future access for New Zealand meat into China.
"This is a great outcome for the New Zealand meat industry. China is an important market and I am pleased we have been able to find a pragmatic cooperative solution to allow new shipments of meat to begin leaving our shores again.
"I would like to thank the meat industry for their patience while we have worked with Chinese officials to find a way to resume trade under existing terms.
"This outcome is testament to the strong relationship we enjoy with Chinese quarantine authorities, and I'm grateful for their willingness to work constructively with New Zealand officials to get trade underway.
"I would also like to thank officials from the Ministry of Primary Industries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the New Zealand Ambassador and his team in Beijing for their hard work in finding a positive way forward.
“This delay has been frustrating for all concerned, but we now have the prospect of reliable future access for New Zealand meat exporters into our biggest market. I look forward to reviewing this work on my next visit to China,” says Mr Guy.