Fish feed now a fast food for our neighbours

Fish feed has become the fifth commodity to join a paperless eCert exchange with New Zealand that continues to lower processing times and boost cross-Tasman trade.

A manual process that previously took three days, with export certificates approved and issued in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Melbourne office and then couriered back to Tasmania before being sent across to New Zealand, will now take around three minutes.

eCert allows importing and exporting government agencies to exchange government certificates electronically. It works via a secure and encrypted data exchange.

The Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry and the Ministry of Primary Industries in New Zealand have a comprehensive eCert agreement.

Fish feed joins edible meat, dairy, plant and seafood products as commodities whose import and clearance times have been significantly shortened through this arrangement.

One of Australia’s most exported goods to New Zealand in terms of volume, fish feed or fish meal is a powder obtained after cooking, pressing, drying or milling fresh raw fish.

With high levels of polyunsaturated fat, it is an ideal food for aquaculture species and provides health benefits both to farmed animals and consumers of them.

This new exchange is another example of the Albanese Labor Government delivering for our agriculture exports.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Julie Collins MP:

“I’m delighted that eCert will now streamline the fish meal trade with New Zealand.

“eCert will mean both the exporter and NZ Ministry of Primary Industries clearance officers will have the certification being sent prior to departing Australia.

“Previously, it could take 3 days for a manual certificate to be issued, then the time required to courier the certificate from Melbourne back to Tasmania or directly to New Zealand.

“As a proud Tasmanian, it is great to see streamlined export processes for byproducts of our seafood and aquaculture sectors, including our salmon industry.

“By taking advantage of these technologies we can speed up and streamline processes, creating a real impact by reducing costs and reducing red tape.”