In 2017 New Zealand fresh tomato growers voted in support of a new biosecurity levy on fresh tomatoes at the TomatoesNZ Annual General Meeting. The levy was proposed to fund requirements needed to adequately prepare for biosecurity incursions through government-industry operational agreements (GIA).
The Minister approved the biosecurity levy in September this year and the levy order is currently being drafted by the Parliamentary Office. It’s expected it will come into effect early in 2020 and TomatoesNZ will start collecting the levy at an initial rate of 0.10% (10 cents per $100). For growers, this will mean a biosecurity levy in addition to the fresh tomato commodity levy (which is currently 0.35%) will be collected at the first point of sale.
For more information:
TomatoesNZ
www.tomatoesnz.co.nz