May 21, 2013

Pending resolution of a paperwork glitch that has left New Zealand's frozen meat products sitting at Chinese ports, New Zealand has stopped issuing export certificates for beef and lamb bound for China.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) deputy director-general Andrew Coleman told reporters at Parliament he could not say how much meat was caught by the hold-up, which has been blamed on a misunderstanding over paperwork.

He would not be more specific, saying Chinese officials were only now returning to work after the weekend and New Zealand officials would be meeting them on May 20.

"Certificates will not be issued at the request of Chinese authorities," Coleman says.

China has become the biggest buyer of New Zealand lamb this year. Initial reports say the hold-up may have be due to a change in the authorising body for New Zealand meat stocks, with MPI taking over from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on March 1.

However, Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy says product had flowed freely after that date and delays had only cropped up in the past couple of weeks.

MPI officials had learned of the problem on May 13, he said.

He noted that it was not unusual for glitches to occur across all of New Zealand's export markets from time to time, though no other countries had signalled current concerns with export documentation.

Other than sheep meat and beef, New Zealand products were going into China as usual. Resolving the issue may take some days.

Meat Industry Association spokesman, Dan Coup, says New Zealand meat companies first learned of the hold-up on Chinese wharves when customers were not able to uplift their consignments.