The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) has introduced regulations to make it more difficult to import seed after the invasive weed velvetleaf was discovered in fodder beet imports. It is now growing on farms throughout the country.
Mark Johnson, chairman of the vegetable seed section of the New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association (NZGSTA), said the country was highly dependent on the import of overseas genetics for vegetables.
Virtually all seed for vegetable growing - apart from onions and pumpkins - is imported. Tubers such as potatoes and kumara are grown in New Zealand and are not affected.
"Will there be any shortages of some products? Yes is the answer to that because it will be very expensive to bring in small lots of seed because the cost of the testing might be too much," Johnson said.
MPI had not yet announced how much the tests would cost. Johnson said he had looked at a hypothetical scenario.
"If you were a seed company bringing in 10 lettuce lines for a specific grower, you would say 'gosh those tests will cost $800 a test, that's $8000 worth of testing, but the seed's worth only $5000'. So the seed won't be coming in," Johnson said.
New Zealand did not take a lot of seeds compared to other countries so small, specialised shipments would be affected.
Johnson said MPI should have identified the "pathway of risk" more clearly. Many seeds were plainly not a risk because they were produced in a totally hygienic environment, where they were washed, cleaned and dried without being handled.
