MAF wants tougher inspections of imported vehicles

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry wants internal and external inspections of imported used vehicles, with external checks carried out not more than 10 days before they are shipped here.

The vehicles would be inspected for animals, insects, egg casings, plant products or other organic material, or soil or water.

Under the ministry's new draft "import health standard," which has been released for discussion, at least 10 per cent of each consignment of used vehicles would have to be inspected.

If any vehicles are found to be contaminated on arrival in New Zealand they will be reshipped at the exporter's expense.

The new proposals for used vehicles are to meet concerns about a rising number of gypsy moth egg clusters found on used cars from Japan.

Asian gypsy moths are a pest which could devastate the remnants of New Zealand's native forests and severely damage the $2.6 billion forest exports sector.

The existing standard covering used vehicles dates from 1997 and says that every vehicle should be inspected, either before leaving Japan or on arrival in New Zealand.

The ministry issued an assessment in March of the risk of eggs coming into the country on such vehicles.

But it has said that it believes ships and containers are alternative methods of entry and possibly more likely ones for the gypsy moth, which is native to Europe, parts of North America and much of Asia.

It said that the probability of moths or live eggs arriving if no measures were taken had been assessed at one vehicle in 1381 last year and one in 4064 in 1998.

With inspection it was assessed at one in 51,546.

It is expected that up to 125,000 used cars will be imported from Japan this year.

Despite the suggestion that the risk of the forest pest entering on Japanese used cars was low, advocates of tighter biosecurity checks have called for the Government to deliver on Labour Party election promises that it would stop used vehicles bringing pests into New Zealand by requiring overseas decontamination and inspection.

At the same time, foresters have called for all ships, aircraft and containers to be inspected for Asian gypsy moth larvae or egg casings in their country of origin, rather than on arrival in New Zealand.

Concerns that the Asian species of the moth, or its eggs, might enter New Zealand on ships were triggered when gypsy moth egg clusters were found on three ships in 1993.

Since 1993, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry has intercepted 86 egg masses, 59 of which were still alive, on 72 vehicles or imported second-hand tyres and car parts imported from Japan.

- NZPA