A bilateral meeting between the Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and New Zealand’s Ministry of Public Enterprises has helped resolve a number of trade issues.
Recently the presence of pests in shipments to New Zealand resulted in the ban on the the importation of eggplant that was lifted yesterday.
NZMPI Chief Technical Officer Dr Stephen Butcher says the meeting which is a first in fifteen years discussed areas of mutual interest to enhance communication channels.
”We have agreed on the action plan on the issues that were under discussion. That will serve as a basis for us to continue collaborating in the next year till we meet at the next bilateral discussion.”
New Zealand has been very critical of certain pests and diseases; in particular the giant African snails which has had an impact on our exports.
BAF says one of the local containers handling company has been accredited to be able to export clean containers to NZ.
The meeting has been hailed a success with both parties agreeing to meet once every year.
