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 Countries including China, the biggest buyer of New Zealand dairy
products, were not closing the door on shipments, a top official
from the ministry told Reuters, as police track down the sender of
letters to dairy giant Fonterra and the national farmers' group
which were accompanied by infant formula laced with the pesticide
1080.
"Last night we had been speaking to our counterparts in overseas
markets, and as of this morning, none of them indicated that any
product was going to be stopped," said Scott Gallacher, deputy
director-general of the Ministry of Primary Industries.
Following the announcement of the police investigation earlier this
week, China has said it would increase scrutiny of milk powder
imports from New Zealand, the world's largest dairy exporter, which
depends on the commodity for around a quarter of its export
earnings.
While China has stopped short of placing restrictions on imports,
some smaller New Zealand infant formula marketing companies said
they had seen a fall in orders for the product commonly prized among
China's growing middle class since the threat was publicized.
A few domestic milk powder and infant formula processors said they
had not seen a fall in demand for their products so far, while
adding that ramped-up Chinese scrutiny may delay exports by around
two to four weeks.
"The feedback from the market has been very quiet. We've only had
one direct contact from one customer in China who has requested that
we test for 1080 and make sure the results are on (shipping
certificates)," said Richard Wyeth, CEO of Miraka, which processes
milk powder and UHT milk products.
But he added: "We only make commodity powder, so we're not seeing
the full impact that others would be."
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Infant formula processors have said they anticipate stable demand
from overseas buyers, while Fonterra which processes nearly 90
percent of the country's milk collection, will not comment on
offshore demand for its products.
MPI's Gallacher said dairy processors were informed of the
investigation last month, the same time that overseas government
agencies and big infant formula brands including Nestle, Abbott
Laboratories and Mead Johnson were told.
Larger companies were informed before smaller ones, which were told
by their suppliers after the threat was publicized, as dairy
processors and the government believed the impact to their supply
chains warranted an early heads up, he added.
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Joseph Radford)
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