About the dairy quota programme
The Dominican Republic, the European Union1, the United Kingdom, Japan, and the United States of America are known as the designated markets. They have quotas in place that govern how much of certain dairy products will receive beneficial export rates. If you want to export dairy products to the designated markets, you'll need to do it under the dairy quota programme. There are several steps to follow before you can export a product. You must:
- be a registered dairy exporter
- hold an export licence for the designated market
- hold an approved Quota Compliance Programme (QCP) for the export of dairy quota product
- receive export approval for each consignment
- ensure you meet the import requirements of the designated market.
More information about these steps is on this page.
Find out how to export to designated markets
New quotas from 1 May 2024 under the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement
The New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement will enter into force on 1 May 2024. It will create new tariff rate quotas for milk powders, butter, cheese, and dairy processed animal proteins (PAPs) and high protein whey. The agreement will also simplify and improve the terms of New Zealand’s existing EU WTO dairy quotas. If you have any questions about exporting under these new quotas, email dairy.quota@mpi.govt.nz.
The designated markets
The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) 2001 (Schedule 5A) lists the markets under the programme.
Table: Markets, the dairy products, the total quota allocation, and the quota year.
Designated market | Product |
Total quota allocation |
Quota year |
---|---|---|---|
Dominican Republic |
Milk powder |
4,800,000 |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Butter |
47,177,0001 |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheddar cheese |
4,361,0001 |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheese for processing |
1,670,0001 |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Low fat cheese |
1,000,000 |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Not specifically provided for (NSPF) cheese |
6,506,528 |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
American type cheese |
238,001 |
1 January to 31 December |
USA |
Cheddar cheese |
5,403,532 |
1 January to 31 December |
Japan |
Prepared edible fat |
11,550,000 |
1 April to 31 March |
United Kingdom |
UK WTO tariff quota butter |
27,516,000 |
1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK WTO tariff quota cheddar cheese | 2,639,000 | 1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK WTO tariff quota cheese for processing | 2,330,000 | 1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK transitional tariff rate quota butter |
9,000,0002 |
1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK transitional tariff rate quota cheese |
30,000,0002 |
1 January to 31 December |
1New EU FTA tariff quotas and adjusted WTO tariff quotas will appear here once the New Zealand-European Union Free Trade Agreement enters into force on 1 May 2024. These quotas are set out in Annex 2-A of the agreement – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) [PDF, 267KB] 2UK transitional tariff rate quota for butter and cheese are transitional quotas as set out in Annex 2A of the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement – Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) [PDF, 5.9MB] |
Table: Total UK transitional tariff rate quota allocation amounts for each quota year.
Quota year | Butter allocation (kg) | Cheese allocation (kg) |
---|---|---|
2023 | 4,123,2883 | 14,136,9863 |
2024 | 9,000,000 | 30,000,000 |
2025 | 11,000,000 | 36,000,000 |
2026 | 13,000,000 | 42,000,000 |
2027 | 15,000,000 | 48,000,000 |
2028+ | Unlimited | Unlimited |
3The total amount for 2023 was prorated based on the date that the Free Trade Agreement Between New Zealand and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was ratified. |
Find out more
The Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001
Dairy Industry Restructuring Act (DIRA) 2001 – NZ Legislation website
Review of how dairy export quota is allocated in New Zealand