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Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Red tape

There exists between China and NZ a free trade agreement. You wouldn't think so after reading this:
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NZ Herald:
"Substandard" New Zealand-made baby formula and milk powder is being rejected at China's border, raising concerns that coverage of the issue in the Chinese media could damage this country's lucrative reputation as a producer of safe dairy products.
A report in the People's Daily newspaper says China's Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) returned or destroyed 270 tonnes of infant formula and milk powder in the 14 months to October, more than half of which came from New Zealand and Australia.
More than three-quarters of the substandard imports were baby formula, the report said, including 26 tonnes of New Zealand-made "Ioland" formula, which was rejected for insufficient iodine content. Iodine deficiency can cause stunted growth and mental impairment in infants.
In another report by the state-run Xinhua news agency, published yesterday on the Shanghai Daily website, reporters visited supermarkets to ask consumers if they were concerned about the "quality issues" highlighted by AQSIQ's rejections of imported formula and milk powder products.
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The media is all state-controlled in China so when these reports surface and they start co-ordinating like this it gives the appearance of a campaign. A campaign against their FTA partner.

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Chris Claridge, managing director of Christchurch-based infant formula exporter Carrickmore Nutrition, said some of the product rejections in China were "questionable", but the coverage of the insufficient iodine levels in Ioland products was a concern as it tarnished all New Zealand infant formula brands.
A large number of Chinese baby formula companies were creating "false fronts" by registering in New Zealand, giving the impression they were Kiwi firms, Claridge said.
Michael Barnett, independent chairman of the newly formed New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association, with 10 founding members, said the group was working to set standards for exporters, while establishing a "line of communication" with Chinese authorities.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Primary Industries said its figures for non-compliant food exports to China did not match some of the figures in the Chinese media reports used in this story, but the ministry was concerned about any New Zealand-made products being denied entry to overseas markets.
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Chinese front companies using NZ, the melamine scandal... it comes down to dodgy Chinese pratices - not dodgy NZ practices.

I wouldn't have posted on this formula milk issue if it weren't for reports I've received that our fish products are getting a hard time going through the Hong Kong border into China and that as a result of this it has to be re-routed through Shanghai at great expense. The reasons given why our exports aren't getting through in Hong Kong (but are getting through via Shanghai) are typically vague.

The Chinese are not proving to be particularly reliable partners are they? What a surprise that would be - to no-one.

Every week you can see on the Border Patrol reality TV show all the contraband Chinese visitors attempt to sneak through customs and all the concealed bags of meth precursors and other drugs in all manner of imports from China. Yet no stunts and bullshit from the NZ government over interfering with their exports into this country. NZ customs have not acted in the aggressive and hostile way our Chinese counterparts have - and our state-controlled media hasn't organised a campaign to discredit Chinese products the way they seem to have done in this instance either.

Are these incidents and impairments in China part of Chinese policy or not? Is the FTA going to turn into a one-way street, with our direction blocked with Chinese red tape?

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