Replacing our trade certification systems

Moving to a new trade certification system

The new Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Trade Certification system will replace all of MPI's existing certification systems for exports and imports.

These systems enable $33 billion of export trade each year and help protect New Zealand from harmful pests and diseases.

The new system will be digital. It will be more flexible than current systems and more user-friendly for businesses and exporters who require trade certificates.

It will support industry by enabling MPI to respond better and faster to new market requirements and significant global events that disrupt supply chains.

From the first half of 2024, exporters will be brought into the MPI Trade Certification system in different stages, by sector group. All exporters will have moved to the new system by the end of 2025.

Existing trade certification systems need replacing

Our current systems are a combination of electronic applications and paper processes.

They were developed independent of each other and at different times. Because of this, some businesses are using multiple systems and make multiple requests to get a certificate. This makes it less efficient for businesses to export their products.

The systems are now out of date. This makes them difficult and costly to update.

We need a new system that is built for the future

The new system will be modern and digital. It will be flexible to meet new international market requirements and emerging global trends.

Industry representatives have told us they want a new system that:

is more user-friendly
makes it easier to coordinate requests
makes it easier to amend raised requests or issued certificates
supports their own workflows
can integrate efficiently with their own processes and systems
safeguards the features of the existing systems that are working well for them.

Benefits of the new trade certification system

The new system will:

be more user-friendly for businesses and exporters
respond better and faster to new market requirements and significant global events that disrupt supply chains
adapt to emerging international trends
reduce use of paper certificates
support electronic certificates for a broader range of products and markets
enhance trusted relationships with trading partners about the accuracy of our certification
improve import to re-export processes
strengthen New Zealand's food safety and biosecurity management
help minimise trade disruptions.

How the move will affect your business

If you use MPI's existing trade certification systems, you will move to the new MPI Trade Certification system sometime between the first half of 2024 and the end of 2025.

For many users, when you move, you will enter your certificate information directly into the new online system.

If you use XML uploads, CSV or business to government integration systems, the new system will offer these options.

Timeline for moving to the new system

This timeline outlines the phases and timing of how we will roll out the new system.

MPI Trade Certification timeline [PDF, 421 KB]

We will start with changes to low-volume, low-risk certification and build up to changes that impact the industry more broadly in the later phases. This lets us build and test the foundations of the system as we go, adding value early and minimising risks.

Our first 2 releases will have no direct impact on the day-to-day business of the sector. They will involve MPI certification staff manually inputting information into the new system for a small number of certificates and MPI biosecurity staff viewing import certificates that have been received electronically.

In 2024, we will launch the digital front end of the MPI Trade Certification system. This will be the online system that many users will input information into.

Sector groups will start using the online system at different stages. For example, wine, plant, and plant products will come onboard in the second half of 2024, but not all at once. We will gradually onboard the groups by product type, export destination and other factors.

We will work to ensure the transition to the new system is as quick and smooth as possible for businesses. However, it could take up to 9 months for some sector groups to move to the new system.

In the final stages of the rollout of the new system, we will complete the connection of all big data exchange systems from large-scale enterprises.

All users will move to the new system by the end of 2025.

There is still a lot of detail to work through about when specific groups will be onboarded. We will work closely with the relevant sectors in the lead up to and implementation of each release to make sure they are ready for the changes.

Design features

The new system will include key design features that will make it easier for users to get trade certificates.

Consignment-centric: you tell us the product and market, and the MPI Trade Certification system will tell you which certificates you need and can optionally request.
Product lifecycle focus: where required, the system will capture information on the product record about what happened to your product up to the point of certification. This will provide better traceability of the product and the markets it is eligible for as it progresses through the supply chain.
Simplified channels: the new system will simplify and streamline how MPI gets the data it needs to create certificates and create a centralised one-stop shop for all relevant information and communication with users.

How we are working with industry stakeholders

MPI is committed to working alongside stakeholders to:

better understand what is and isn’t working with our current systems and processes
keep the industry up to date about what the new system will mean for them
communicate the changes early so businesses can be ready
support the industry through the changes.

Some of the engagement we have undertaken includes:

face-to-face and online workshops in 2021 to better understand users' experiences of the current systems and processes
3 industry hui in September and October 2022
hui with Māori stakeholders in October 2022
interviews with about 50 industry representatives in May and June 2023 to better understand experiences of the current systems and processes, including pain points
monthly update hui with industry representatives, beginning August 2023
monthly newsletters to industry representatives, beginning August 2023
regular hui with industry representatives and groups.

We will continue to meet with affected stakeholders through the rollout of the programme.

Talk with us and stay informed

If you will be affected by the change to the new MPI Trade Certification system, we want to make sure you know about and are prepared for the changes.

We also want to hear from you about what we need to know in building the new system.

If you or your business would like to talk with us, we’d appreciate the opportunity.

You can register to attend our monthly industry update hui or receive our monthly newsletter. These are great ways to stay up to date and talk with us about our work.

If you want to speak with us or register for a monthly update hui or newsletter, contact us at futurecertification@mpi.govt.nz