M.I.A.
OPINION: The previous government spent too much during the Covid-19 pandemic, despite warnings from officials, according to a briefing released by the Treasury.
Meat Industry Association chair John Loughlin says China is one of the most demanding export markets in the world.
This is particularly so in the present Covid-19 environment and Loughlin says NZ companies need to be aware of the strict Chinese health requirements, or risk being excluded from that market.
China is very concerned about the possibility of Covid coming into the country on imported products and he says there is a belief the virus can survive on packaging materials stored in cool environments. Loughlin says NZ meat companies have to be aware of China’s high import standards – especially in regard to Covid.
“The Chinese are a net importer of food and it has to strike a balance about keeping Covid out and keeping its people safe,” Loughlin told Rural News. “There is no indication that they will ban individual countries from sending product to China because of Covid-related matters. But, at the same time, they have removed access on a temporary basis for individual meat processing sites that have had problems.”
He says, in extreme cases, if the Chinese have felt all is not right with a company, they have banned imports from that company.
Suspensions can take a long time to reverse and in some cases a year. “Their approach is that they need to be satisfied on the controls at the individual processing plants and companies.”
Loughlin says there are also instances when the bans have been lifted within a matter of days.
The companies most at risk are smaller, singlesite operations and Rural News is aware that no stone is left unturned by these companies to meet the strict Chinese standards, which can change depending on the Covid- 19 situation.
Loughlin says China is particularly demanding and there is an expectation within the Chinese Party system and government that it will keep people safe, hence the very high standard of import requirements.
“China came late to the world of global trade and didn’t have a set of import rules, so it looked around the world and took the most demanding standards from each country and pulled those into a package,” he explains. “They took something from one country and another thing from another country and so on – so that’s why Chinese standards are so high.”
Loughlin says in China there is a big expectation on government officials that imported goods will meet the higher standards and will keep their people safe.
He says China and NZ have taken similar approaches to dealing with Covid by trying to stamp out the virus and that bodes well for us.
Loughlin believes NZ is very capable of meeting the Chinese standards but warns companies can never relax their vigilance on this issue.
Phoebe Scherer, a technical manager from the Bay of Plenty, has won the 2025 Young Grower of the Year national title.
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.
Award-winning boutique cheese company, Cranky Goat Ltd has gone into voluntary liquidation.
As an independent review of the National Pest Management Plan for TB finds the goal of complete eradication by 2055 is still valide, feedback is being sought on how to finish the job.
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.
A tiny organism from the arid mountains of mainland Greece is facilitating a new way of growing healthier animals on farms across New Zealand.
OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…
OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.