New Zealand dairy giant Fonterra has said changes to EU regulations on imports of New Zealand butter are “unnecessary and unjustified”.
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The new regulation does not change New Zealand’s total quota for butter exports to the EU, which currently stands at 76,667 tonnes per year, but splits the quota into two six-month periods.
The move is designed to prevent exporters taking advantage of higher butter prices earlier in the year, reported the New Zealand Herald.
Fonterra chairman Henry van der Heyden today said he was very disappointed by the new regulation, which he said represents unnecessary and unjustified interference with New Zealand’s butter trade.
“Fonterra cannot see how the EU Commission can reasonably claim that the small proportion of New Zealand butter entering under the quota can cause problems in the very large EU butter market.
“We are particularly concerned that the new regulation does not meet the EU’s scheduled WTO commitments, which specify a one-year period for New Zealand to supply butter under the quota,” Van der Heyden said.
“Fonterra strongly supports the New Zealand Government in its protests to the Commission about the new regulation,” he added.
