The industry body representing more than 80 per cent of this country’s dietary supplement and natural health product companies says it is incredulous at the Government’s announcement that it will invest $20.3 million in modernising New Zealand’s trade certification system to help build on our global reputation for producing trusted food for export.

Natural Health Products NZ Government Affairs Manager Samantha Gray says, although this announcement looks positive on the surface, the Government continues to take an inconsistent approach to assisting exporters.

“On one hand the Government is investing in modernising the trade certification system, yet on the other it refuses to resolve other significant barriers to trade that it has created. These barriers have already cost this country’s natural health product exporters millions in lost orders and will continue to do so until the problem is fixed.

Minister for Food Safety Dr Ayesha Verrall’s announcement about the trade certification system upgrade stated: “This investment from Budget 2022 helps facilitate New Zealand’s trade with other countries, which is deeply important to our economy and the well-being of our communities.”

Ms Gray says that statement is ironic given the trade barriers arising from current rules make it illegal for New Zealand-based natural health product exporters to provide product labelling information that complies with their destination markets’ own regulations.

“These rules apply to products that are only sold in export markets yet our repeated requests for export only certification have fallen on deaf ears. Years of inaction to fix this issue means exports are $500 million per annum behind where they should be.”

“Frustratingly, it is within Minister Verrall’s power to put things right for our sector’s exporters, yet she has washed her hands of the problem,” says Ms Gray.

She says resolving the issue requires Medsafe to recognise the integrity of key export markets’ regulatory systems, and for MPI and Medsafe to work together to develop an export-only exemption and certification solution.

“This could easily and inexpensively be resolved if New Zealand’s regulators amended the regulations to permit export-only dietary supplements. The government accepts that there is a clear and fast pathway to do this, but refuses to act.”

“We are calling on Minister Verrall to instruct officials to resolve this trade barrier issue at pace,” says Ms Gray.

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