Electronic monitor for exports

WELLINGTON - The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry is developing an electronic system for certifying cheese and butter volumes to meet European Union quota requirements.

It will combine certification, verification and volume reconciliation in one package, and will go online on July 1.

Responsibility for butter and cheese export certification has been transferred from the Dairy Board to the ministry at the request of the EU.

New Zealand's quotas allow 11,000 tonnes of cheese and almost 77,000 tonnes of butter to enter the EU at discounted tariff rates. Each shipment requires a monitoring certificate, which provides EU officials with government assurances about the volumes of butter and cheese being imported, plus its weight, age, and, for butter, fat content. - NZPA