Proposals for regulating organic businesses in the primary sector

Have your say

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) wants your feedback on proposals for regulating organic businesses in the primary sector. Full details are in our discussion document, which covers the:

• proposed requirements and processes associated with the approval of organic businesses
• recognition of third-party agencies and persons that would check compliance
• use of a national mark for organic products.

You can make a submission by using an online survey or writing to us.

We are interested in your responses to the questions in the discussion document, or any other information you think is relevant to the regulation of organic products. Your feedback will help us understand the impacts of the proposals and identify potential changes to ensure they work effectively.

Discussion document

Proposals for regulating organic businesses in the primary sector [PDF, 1.4 MB]

Summary of the proposed approval process

To help you understand the proposed approval process, we've created a basic diagram. The diagram shows how a business would get approved to sell organic products.

Diagram: Proposed baseline process for approving businesses to describe products as organic [PDF, 149 KB]

Making your submission

Send us your feedback on the proposals by 5pm on 21 June 2021.

Submissions will be accepted from our online survey form, by email, by post, or at one of our public workshops or hui.

Online

Online submission: Proposals for regulating organic businesses in the primary sector – SurveyMonkey

By email or post

If you don't use the online form, you can email your submission to OrganicsConsultation@mpi.govt.nz

While we prefer you use the online form or email, you can post your written submission to:

Organics Policy
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

Workshops and hui

Workshops and hui will be held online and in person at locations across the country.

We are holding workshops and hui that cover the same content – both discuss the proposals for organic regulations and the national organic standards. We invite members of local iwi and hapū in these locations to the hui to wānanga with us in a way that incorporates tikanga Māori.

Register your interest in attending by completing the online form. 

Once registered, you will be contacted by MPI with further details on the workshops and hui in due course.

Register to attend a public workshop or hui – SurveyMonkey

Timetables and locations

Submissions are public information

Note that any submission you make becomes public information. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it (refer to sections 6 and 9 of the OIA).

Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. Any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

The Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

Next steps after this consultation

After carefully considering all feedback received, we will run another consultation on the content of draft:

• exposure regulations on approving businesses in the primary sector
• proposals for cost recovery regulations
• proposals for infringement regulations
• national organic standards for food, beverages, plant, and animal products.

If you are interested in helping to draft the new national organic standards, you can apply to join a technical working group.

Information on joining the technical working group – Poster [PDF, 624 KB]

Related information – The Organic Products Bill

The Organics Products Bill is progressing through Parliament.

Find out about the bill and check its progress – NZ Parliament

Background documents about the bill and proposed regulations

• Cabinet paper about the Organic Products Bill [PDF, 1.2 MB]
• Cabinet Paper about this consultation – 17 February 2020 [PDF, 757 KB]
• Report from the Primary Production Select Committee on the Organic Products Bill
• Departmental report from the Ministry for Primary Industries on the Organic Products Bill
• Regulatory impact assessment of the new organics legislation and regulatory system [PDF, 319 KB]
• Summary of submissions from the 2018 consultation [PDF, 364 KB]
• Cabinet paper agreeing to public consultation in 2018 [PDF, 291 KB]
• 2018 discussion paper: Would New Zealand benefit from having a new regulatory regime for organic production [PDF, 394 KB]
• Pamphlet for the 2018 consultation [PDF, 1.7 MB]
• Meeting presentation for the 2018 consultation [PDF, 2.8 MB]