Make your submission

From 31 March to 15 May 2026, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) invites comment on proposed import requirements for fresh blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) for human consumption.

MPI outlines:

• assessment of market access requests from Chile, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, and the USA
• approach to preventing the introduction of harmful pests and diseases through fresh blueberry imports.

MPI want your feedback, technical information, industry knowledge, and suggestions on:

• pests requiring additional measures that we may have missed
• the measures we’re proposing
• the feasibility of importing under the proposed requirements
• consultation process.

Reasons for developing an import health standard for blueberries

Five countries (Chile, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, and the USA) have requested to export blueberries to New Zealand. To protect our environment, economy, and health, we need to ensure that pests, which may harm them, are managed to an acceptable level on imported blueberries. At the same time, we seek to enable safe and fair trade with our international partners.

Our goal is to strike the right balance, keeping New Zealand safe and enabling trade that benefits our economy and our trading partners. It is important that our biosecurity measures align with international standards and are evidence-based.

Consultation document and information

Draft Import Health Standard: Fresh Blueberries for Human Consumption [PDF, 562 KB]

Risk assessment

Proposals for allowing the import of fresh blueberries

Answers to questions you might have about allowing the import of fresh blueberries

Related documents

WTO notification [PDF, 118 KB]

Making your submission

We welcome your feedback about the proposals and the draft import health standard. We’re accepting submissions until 5pm on 15 May 2026. If you’re happy with what we’re proposing, you don’t need to do anything else, but we’d appreciate an email from you letting us know. You can send us your feedback by email or post.

Email: blueberryproject@mpi.govt.nz

Post

Plant Products Team
Biosecurity Import and Export Standards Directorate
Biosecurity New Zealand
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140
New Zealand.

If you need more information from us before making your submission, email blueberryproject@mpi.govt.nz

Note that submissions received after the closing date will be kept on file and considered during future reviews.

We value all feedback on our work, whether complimentary or critical. If we’ve done something well, let us know so we can keep going in the right direction.

Risk assessment for importing blueberries

We developed the draft import health standard (IHS) after assessing and reviewing all the potential risks.

More information here.