March 12, 2015
New Zealand police announced that last November letters were sent from suspected environmental activists to the national farmers’ group and Fonterra threating to contaminate infant formula with the pesticide 1080, or sodium fluoroacetate. After the announcement, demand from China, New Zealand’s biggest dairy buyer, which purchased $3.11 billion worth of milk powder and other products in 2014, fell significantly, hitting the New Zealand dollar which fell to a five week low.
Some orders have been cut by as much as 70% according to the New Zealand Infant Formula Exporters Association, which claims that online exposure of the threat may be increasing concerns in China.
New Zealand’s agriculture ministry has declared that the pesticide has definitely not entered into the country’s dairy supply chain, however, China’s General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has demanded that every shipment of milk powder imported from New Zealand have an official New Zealand certificate guaranteeing that it does not contain 1080, and has stated that they will increase scrutiny of dairy shipments from New Zealand, which relies on the Chinese market for approximately 25% of its export revenues from dairy products.
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