More China dairy concerns?

 A Chinese website claims that 14% of the products rejected by China came from New Zealand. But officials and industry sources here are playing down this news.

MPI told Rural News it regularly briefs the dairy industry on market developments; some briefings are “highly confidential”. 

It says two meetings were held last week: one on a new manufacturing standard for infant formula, on which they consulted the industry last year; the other to “confidentially” brief manufacturers on commercial and market-sensitive issues.

MPI would not describe the briefing or who attended, other than to say it was not about the rejection of product by China and the recent stories about this issue.

Rural News asked whether New Zealand product had been rejected as contaminated; MPI responded:

“In the 12 months to December 2014, there were only five instances when products were rejected due to the presence of bacteria, one due to chemical residue.  These six instances represent about 0.06% of total dairy exports. If products do get stopped, it is mostly due to administration errors, such as damage in transit and non-compliant labelling. It often involves trade samples as well as normal commercial trade. 

“These issues rarely relate to food safety matters.”

Industry sources support the MPI statement, one confirming the affected items are often trade samples. Others express concern at the developments and hint that the Chinese are seeking to find fault with infant formula exporters to their country. 

These sources suggested to Rural News that moves by the Chinese to buy their own processing plants could be part of a long-term strategy to put the squeeze on small New Zealand exporters, especially in the highly competitive area of infant formula.

Meanwhile, MPI says it has a “constructive and respectful” relationship with Chinese authorities and will continue to work with them and manufacturers to resolve trade issues.