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NZIER report

On 20 December 2001 the Hon Jim Sutton, Minister of Agriculture, released the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) report into the cost of compliance with the HSNO and ACVM Acts.

NZIER was contracted to help MAF gain a fuller understanding of the economic workings of the agricultural chemicals sector in New Zealand. In particular MAF wanted to understand how the implementation of the HSNO Act and the ACVM Act would, in the form of compliance costs, impact on the agricultural sector.

The report says there is a perception that there is a significant risk of a substantial increase in the cost of compliance on the industry.

It reports there is a perception amongst agricultural chemical companies that the introduction of the HSNO Act substantially increases the chances that they will introduce agricultural chemicals into New Zealand only after most other developed countries have approved a product for use, thus denying access to agricultural users in New Zealand of that product when their competitors already have access to it.

This could lead to farmers and growers being forced to keep using more toxic ‘harder’ chemicals because ‘softer’ less toxic alternatives were not registered for use in New Zealand.

The report also says the composition of agricultural chemicals is changing over time as the market demands ‘softer’ and ‘softer’ chemicals. The application of these products is typically part of an integrated pest management approach. The changes in pesticide use over the past decade are primarily due to changes in land use, cost effectiveness, and the adoption of integrated pest management. This means more biological and less organophosphate and dicarboximide-based chemicals are used.

In world terms, the New Zealand market for agricultural chemicals is very small – about 0.26 per cent of world demand. The pesticides and animal health markets in New Zealand are worth about $190 million and $170 million a year respectively.

When interpreting the report it is important to note that the report was researched and written prior to the ACVM Act and hazardous substance sections of the HSNO Act commencing on 2 July 2001. It was therefore based on stakeholders’ perceptions of the HSNO Act and ACVM Act, not on any operational experience. However, the issues raised in the report, if borne out, will have significant ramifications for the agricultural sector.

MAF will use the report as a benchmark to monitor the implementation of both the HSNO and ACVM Acts against to provide early warning to Government of any unintended consequences.

The report can be found on the ACVM part of the MAF website.

Contacts List Update – IMPORTANT!!!

With the number of changes in the industry and the move by many organisations to electronic means we want to make sure that our contacts list remains up to date. We will continue to send AgVetLink to all registrants and licensees as it remains one of the key tools in our consultation process. For this reason we would like you to confirm that it is being sent to the correct person and address by confirming the information below. All other recipients wishing to remain on the AgVetLink contacts list will need to confirm the following details to Gill Culliford:

Name:

Organisation:

Address:

Phone:

Fax:

Email:

As part of the review we will be limiting the number of AgVetLink copies sent to organisations because there are website copies available at the same time that hard copies are mailed.

This exercise will enable us to update our records and ensure that we have the correct information for everyone. Thanks for your cooperation. For further information please contact

Gill Culliford (phone: 04 474 4245, fax: 04 474 4240, or email: cullifordg@maf.govt.nz).