Lifting of fruit, fresh veggie import ban gazetted

 By MALUM NALU

THE lifting of the ban on imported fruits and fresh vegetables was gazetted on Tuesday  – 12 days after Agriculture and Livestock Minister Tommy Tomscoll announced the decision.

He lifted the ban on Friday, Jan 22, saying it would be gazetted the following week (last week).

The lifting of the ban on uncooked poultry has also been gazette to “allow imports of all poultry products, including eggs, from countries that meet the bio-security standards of New Zealand”. 

“And the importation is subject to ministerial approval with country visits.”

Fruits and vegetables from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Phillipines, Malaysia and China will be allowed in “for a period of three months only, and is dated as of the date of this gazettal”. 

Meanwhile, Tomscoll made a variation to the ban on imported poultry and eggs just before Christmas, to allow a company to import eggs.

While the ban on the importing of uncooked poultry products from Australia was still in place, Tomscoll granted approval for a company named One-Tok Enterprise Ltd, to import eggs from Australia and New Zealand. This followed a Gazettal Notice (No G824 of Dec 17, 2015) varying the previous Gazettal G254 of April 15, 2015.

In granting permission to One-Tok Enterprise to import eggs from Australia and New Zealand, Tomscoll explained in a letter to the National Agriculture Quarantine Inspection Authority (NAQIA):

• That Gazettal No 254 included the ban on importation of eggs from Australia, but the ban did not include importation of the product from New Zealand;
• that subsequent to Gazettal No 824, the ban on the importation of eggs from Australia was lifted; and,
• As a result, the importation of eggs from Australia and New Zealand was restricted and was subjected to a ministerial approval.