Tuesday, 11 October 2016 10:55

PKE rules not made to be broken

Written by  Sudesh Kissun
A file picture of MV Molat, caught up in the PKE shipment saga at Tauranga Port. A file picture of MV Molat, caught up in the PKE shipment saga at Tauranga Port.

PKE rules are there for a reason and importers must abide by them, says Federated Farmers Dairy chairman Andrew Hoggard.

He says a robust process is in place for importing palm kernel expeller (PKE) and all importers seem to follow them.

He was commenting on 23,000 tonnes of PKE sitting on a ship at Tauranga Harbour since early last month; the Ministry of Primary Industries has blocked the vessel MV Molat from unloading the cargo because it came from an unapproved facility.

MPI says the importer is prepared to have the PKE heat treated but there are calls to send the ship back.

Hoggard likened the shipment to cases on the TV show Border Patrol, where people bring in meat without declaring it.

“It’s pretty stupid for people to do that; we have strict rules in place for a reason.”

The shipment, believed to be owned by ADM, came to MPI’s attention on September 2 when it applied for biosecurity clearance.

“On examination of the paperwork, MPI found that a Malaysian facility where some of the PKE was produced was not approved under MPI’s current import health standard,” a MPI spokesman told Dairy News.

At the time of writing MPI was assessing a proposal from the importer to have the product heat treated. “The final decision has yet to be made.”

Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy is backing MPI’s response.

He says New Zealand has a stringent border security system; it has strengthened under his watch.

He says PKE must come from a certified plant.

“It is an important feed source for the dairy industry.”

Labour has pounced on the shipment and is calling for it to be sent back.

Labour’s biosecurity spokesman Damien O’Connor says the PKE is from an unregistered supplier in Malaysia.

“Unregistered suppliers do not have to meet the stringent safety checks applying to registered suppliers, to ensure there is no biosecurity risk to New Zealand. In this case, we do not know what checks were applied.

“In previous cases, huge biosecurity risk from possible foot and mouth contamination have been identified from PKE imports not up to standard. The risks are high and we should take no chances.

“If National and MPI are considering letting this shipment into our market, it shows they still do not understand the enormous risk biosecurity hazards pose to our economy and communities,” says O’Connor

Greenpeace has questioned why the MPI decision is taking so long.

More like this

New freshwater farm plans 'practical and affordable'

OPINION: Entering Parliament back in 2023, I wanted to help put the fun back in farming. After six years of Labour, rural New Zealand was tired of the relentless waves of red tape and compliance, draining joy from people who just want to work the land.

Dr Mike Joy says sorry, escapes censure

Academic Dr Mike Joy and his employer, Victoria University of Wellington have apologised for his comments suggesting that dairy industry CEOs should be hanged for contributing towards nitrate poisoning of waterways.

Farmer anger over Joy's social media post

A comment by outspoken academic Dr Mike Joy suggesting that dairy industry leaders should be hanged for nitrate contamination of drinking/groundwater has enraged farmers.

Poultry industry, Govt sign landmark biosecurity deal

The Government has struck a deal with New Zealand's poultry industry, agreeing how they will jointly prepare for and respond to exotic poultry diseases, including any possible outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza (HPAI).

Witchunt?

OPINION: Newsroom is running a series of articles looking into the influence of lobbying and has kicked it off with agriculture.

Featured

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards, providing the opportunity to honour both rising talent and industry stalwarts.

B+LNZ launches AI assistant for farmers

Beef + Lamb New Zealand has launched an AI-powered digital assistant to help farmers using the B+LNZ Knowledge Hub to create tailored answers and resources for their farming businesses.

National

Machinery & Products

JDLink Boost for NZ farms

Connectivity is widely recognised as one of the biggest challenges facing farmers, but it is now being overcome through the…

New generation Defender HD11

The all-new 2026 Can-Am Defender HD11 looks likely to raise the bar in the highly competitive side-by-side category.

» Latest Print Issues Online

Milking It

Buttery prize

OPINION: Westland Milk may have won the contract to supply butter to Costco NZ but Open Country Dairy is having…

Gene Bill rumours

OPINION: The Gene Technology Bill has divided the farming community with strong arguments on both the pros and cons of…

» Connect with Dairy News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter