When interviewed, Fijian Trade Minister, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, said the actions taken by New Zealand’s Primary Industries Ministry to suspend eggplant, mango, breadfruit and papaya imports are unjustified in light of Fiji’s strong commitment to biosecurity.

The Biosecurity Authority of Fiji and the Ministry of Trade are now taking urgent action to ensure that products continue to be exported freely and safely.

Sayed-Khaiyum said New Zealand authorities had raised no concerns about any specific biosecurity risks associated with the shipment in question. He added that it’s highly irregular that New Zealand has opted to suspend all imports of the four commodities rather than simply rejecting any consignment over which they had concerns.

FBC says that Fijian officials have requested a meeting with their NZ counterparts to resolve this issue.

Source: fbc.com.fj