Disease 'danger' in stock feeds

BY KIM KNIGHT IN AUCKLAND

Foot-and-mouth disease could arrive on the coat-tails of the dairy industry's massive uptake of palm kernel stock food, Federated Farmers grain and seed vice-chairman Hew Dalrymple warned. "We believe it's not if, but when, something really quite bad comes in with it," Mr Dalrymple said.

Imports through Bluff are causing particular concern.

Federated Farmers national board member John Hartnell raised concerns last month about a container-load of palm kernel expeller (PKE) that arrived in Bluff, so badly infested with live insects and maize kernel it had to be buried two metres deep.

Last year New Zealand cows ate a quarter of the world's palm kernel stock food supply.

More than 1 million tonnes of PKE was imported, mostly from Indonesia and Malaysia, prompting outrage from environmental groups concerned at the palm industry's role in the loss of tropical rainforest and destruction of tiger and orangutan habitat.

The figure put local consumption second only to the 27 combined countries of the European Union, according to figures from the United States Department of Agriculture.

Federated Farmers' grain section tried to have the imports banned last year without success, and Mr Dalrymple said New Zealand would be "cut off at the knees" when, rather than if, the imports brought foot-and-mouth disease.

"We're a clean, green agriculture exporting company.

"The integrity of our food supply is absolutely paramount. Imports that we use to supplement our feed system have to be of extraordinarily high integrity and we have real concerns that's not the case."

An investigation by the Sunday Star-Times published yesterday revealed that only 330,000 tonnes of palm kernel product on the market since August last year had certification from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.

The organisation was formed in 2004 in response to serious concern about palm plantation practices the conversion of high conservation value forests, forest fires and land ownership conflict between local communities and plantation owners.

"Certainly very little expeller cake coming into New Zealand last year would have been RSPO certified at all," said Dr Vengata Rao, Kuala Lumpur-based RSPO secretary general.

Farmers argue the spike in imports was because of last year's devastating drought and the need to provide supplementary feed. But Greenpeace NZ says figures have increased a thousandfold during the past decade.

"Drought has a little bit to do with it," communications manager Suzette Jackson said, "the major reason this increase has come about is through the intensification and corporatisation of New Zealand's dairy sector.

"Not only is this trade damaging to the environment on the ground here, it's also really damaging to how we are trying to portray ourselves internationally, as a country that does care, that does give a damn, and wants to live up to what we trade on our clean, green identity."

Biosecurity and Agriculture Minister David Carter said the dairy industry was aware of the need to improve sustainability.

From a biosecurity perspective, all palm kernel imports were fumigated, Mr Carter said.

"In response to industry concern, I am advised that MAF Biosecurity New Zealand is reviewing the requirements to add extra confidence to the importation process, but there is no evidence to suggest the current requirements have failed."

- © Fairfax NZ News