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Proposed changes to cost recovery settings: 2027 annual review

Have your say

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) seeks your feedback on the following proposals:

  • increase the red meat processor export levy to offset declining slaughter volumes
  • revert the base hourly rate for approval services under the Animal Products Act 1999 (APA) to 2019 levels following the return of a surplus to industry
  • include in regulation the existing fee for trade certification services for the organics sectors, so that cost recovery can continue at current rates when the sector transitions to the new regulatory regime
  • confirm industry support for aligning bee product processor levies with actual volumes or values.

Consultation opened on 10 September 2026, and submissions close at 5pm on 15 October 2026.

We welcome submissions on the proposals contained in the consultation document. Your feedback will help shape final decisions on how costs are allocated and recovered.

Consultation document

Annual review 2027: Proposed changes to MPI's cost recovery settings [PDF, 752 KB]

What's being proposed?

Fee/levy

Current rate

Proposed rate

Red meat processor export levy

$0.125 per lamb equivalent

$0.188 per lamb equivalent

Hourly rate for approval services under the Animal Products Act 1999

$135.00 per hour

$155.00 per hour

Regulatory design changes

1. Include existing Trade Certification fee for organic product export certificates in regulation

To enable continued recovery of certification costs ($7.33 excluding GST) under the new regulatory regime.

2. Potential to shift bee product processor levies from a flat-rate basis to one based on actual volumes or values

To improve equity for low-volume processors by linking levies more closely to actual production volumes or values.

Making your submission

Submissions close at 5pm on 15 October 2026. 

You can use the online form, or email or post your feedback using the submission template. 

Online submission form

Email us your submission

If you are emailing or posting your submission, we encourage you to use our consultation template [DOCX, 86 KB]

Email your submission to costrecovery@mpi.govt.nz

Post your submission

While we prefer online or email submissions, you can post written submissions to: 

Cost Recovery Directorate
Corporate Branch
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

Information to include

Make sure you include in your submission: 

  • the title of the consultation document
  • your name and title 
  • your organisation's name (if you are submitting on behalf of an organisation, and whether your submission represents the whole organisation or a section of it)
  • your contact details (such as phone number, address, and email). 

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 to 9 of the OIA.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

Our privacy commitment

The Privacy Act 2020 applies to all submissions. Any personal information you provide will be used only for the purpose of informing this consultation. All submissions will be read by MPI staff. MPI may also use artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise content and identify key themes. All AI outputs will be subject to human review.

To find out about the personal information we collect, our approach to privacy and security, and your rights, refer to this web page: Privacy and security