Speculation has been rife that tensions are on the rise between the two countries since the Government Communications Security Bureau said in November it will not allow equipment from Huawei to be installed in Spark’s roll-out of its new 5G network unless significant risks to national security are addressed.
National MPs in Parliament on Thursday said they had reports of problems for New Zealand exporters getting products cleared by Chinese authorities in recent weeks but provided no more details.
Two exporters – meat processor Ovation and seafood company Sanford – confirmed to Farmers Weekly on Friday they had experienced hold-ups at Chinese ports in recent weeks while a third – liquid milk exporter Oravida – is understood to also have also experienced problems.
The managing director of Hastings-based Ovation, Willem Sandberg, said Chinese border authorities had stepped up inspections of containers in recent weeks.
As a result Chinese customs officers had found bone in a container of boneless meat cuts from Ovation.
Sandberg said he had no reason to question the discovery but was surprised at the reaction from Chinese authorities who threatened to suspend the export licence of the processing plant in NZ the meat came from.
“It is a minor issue that can be escalated into a major issue, I guess, but usually common sense prevails and the products can go through.
“This container did go through but only on the back of a lot of work from a customer.”
Sandberg said the incident might be explained by recent organisational changes in the Chinese regulatory system but the experience left him unsettled.
“We have had feedback from one of our customers who believes it is political but that is somebody’s opinion rather than fact, I guess.
“There has been a change, there is no doubt about that.”
Sanford’s chief customer officer Andre Gargiulo said the fishing company had experienced delays in getting several shipments of salmon cleared by Chinese authorities since the end of January.
“We have not been given a reason for this by local authorities.”
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said he had been approached at Waitangi Day celebrations by former Prime Minister and Oravida chairwoman Jenny Shipley about problems being faced by the liquid milk exporter in the Chinese market.
Oravida was approached for comment but had not responded by deadline.
O’Connor said he has asked officials at the Ministry for Primary Industries about the delays.
“In terms of the total number … it is still relatively small relative to the thousands of consignments that happen on a weekly basis.”
Asked whether they might be payback for NZ’s decision to block Huawei’s involvement in 5G roll-out here as claimed by National O’Connor was unconvinced.
“Most of the problems at the border have been cleared.
“They have been temporary and there has been some justification for them.
“That would be drawing a long bow to reach that conclusion.”
Certainly NZ’s largest exporters seem to not have been singled out.
Meat exporter Anzco’s sales and marketing general manager Rick Walker said there had been a slow-up in customs clearances at Chinese ports in recent months.
But he believes it is related to a reorganisation of the country’s quarantine and customs services last year and is not specific to imports from NZ.
“Nothing material in terms of expectations but they just seem to be following due process a little more rigorously than they did under the old structures.”
