Exporting under the dairy quota programme

Dairy tariff rate quotas administered by New Zealand are allocated in the form of export licences. You’ll need an export licence before you can export to the designated markets. We allocate export licences between August and September of each year.

Note that for years one (2026) and two (2027) of the India FTA albumin quota, allocations will take place in the last quarter of 2026. 

To receive an export licence, there are a few steps you’ll need to follow.

Make sure you're registered as an exporter

Only registered animal product exporters can apply for an export notice. Make sure you’re registered by following the instructions.

Find out how to register as an exporter

Take part in the allocation round

We will call for applications for export licences in the middle of each year. We do this mid-year prior to the start of the next quota year (January for most quotas). This is intended to make business planning easier and to provide time to ship products to the designated markets.

We’ll officially announce when applications open through a Gazette notice. We recommend that companies regularly check both the Gazette and this website to confirm when the process opens and the deadline for applications.

New Zealand Gazette

Once applications close, MPI will calculate applicants’ entitlements in accordance with the DIRA. The Minister of Agriculture makes the final allocations.

If you’re eligible, you will receive export licences for each designated market you have applied for based on your share of all applicants’ exports (by volume) under that tariff heading to all markets (not just to quota markets) over the last 3 seasons. For example, if you apply for a quota which covers cheese, and you represent 5% of applicants’ total cheese exports by volume to all markets over the past 3 seasons, you will receive 5% of the export licences available for that quota. The Gazette notice will outline the applicable tariff headings.

You will only be allocated licences for a particular market if your entitlement is 20 tonnes or more.

From year 2 of the India FTA onwards (1 January 2027), 10% of the albumin quota will be reserved for: 

• applicants who would otherwise be ineligible because they have no export volume history for albumins, or because they are eligible for fewer than 20 tonnes of the albumin export licences
• applicants who are eligible for between 20 and 50 tonnes of the albumin export licences to apply for a top-up (bringing them up to a maximum of 50 tonnes). 

Applicants for the reserved albumin quota can be allocated up to 50 tonnes, depending on the number of applicants. Where the reserved portion is oversubscribed, the reserve albumin export licences will be allocated to applicants up to the maximum the applicant has applied for or is eligible for. 

Allocations will be notified in the Gazette, and we will also inform you in writing.

If you are allocated export licences, you will need to pay participation fees which cover the costs of running the system (see the costs of export licences)

If you are allocated export licences, you’ll need to register an approved QCP with MPI before you can use them (see Step 2: Get a Quota Compliance Programme). If you are allocated export licences but do not register an approved QCP, you may be declined future allocations.

Step 2: Get a Quota Compliance Programme

If you are unsure about your eligibility to be allocated export licences, you can email dairy.quota@mpi.govt.nz

Operators who are allocated quota for cheddar cheese, low fat cheese, NSPF cheese or American style cheese to the US markets will be required to nominate their designated importer to the US to MPI.

Apply for a dairy quota export licence

To apply for a share of export licences, you’ll need to provide us the following information, as well as a statutory declaration confirming the accuracy of the information.

What we need

• The list of quotas you are applying for and the volume. If no volume is specified, then the full amount of quota that you are eligible for will be allocated.
• A statutory declaration with the volume of your exports for each of the last 3 seasons for each relevant tariff heading for the quotas you are applying for (the tariff headings can be found on this page and in the Gazette notice when applications open).
• Your business name and any other business names you export under, and your New Zealand Customs Service Client Code.
• The name and email address of the person in your company responsible for dairy quota matters.

If you use an export agent such as a freight forwarder or consolidator, you’ll also need to provide a statutory declaration from the agent confirming:

• their relationship with you,
• the volumes they have exported on your behalf
• their New Zealand Customs Service Client Code.

If you are applying for the reserved albumin quota and do not have any export volume history, you must also submit a statutory declaration, confirming that you do not have any export volume history under the relevant tariff heading. 

Required text for a statutory declaration [PDF, 10 KB]

Once you’ve made your statutory declaration, email it to dairy.quota@mpi.govt.nz

Or post it to:

Attention: Dairy Quota Allocation and Transfers
Food Risk Management, New Zealand Food Safety
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

The costs of export licences

The Quota Management System and Quota Management Register handle dairy quota export approvals and record who currently holds export licences.

Export licence holders are invoiced quarterly for the costs of running these systems, in proportion to the tonnes they're allocated under the export licence. The Dairy Export Quota Products Notice sets the amount.

Dairy Export Quota Products Notice – Amount to recover for year [PDF, 263 KB]

Transferring export licences

If you hold an export licence, you may be able to transfer it to another person eligible to hold an export licence under regulations associated with the Dairy Industry Restructuring Act 2001.

Dairy Industry Restructuring (Transfer of Export Licences) Regulations 2007 – NZ Legislation

You and the transferee are responsible for working out the commercial terms of the transfer – government agencies are not involved. Note that you will need to register the transfer with MPI.

You can transfer any amount of a licence greater than 20 metric tonnes in a single transaction. You can only transfer licences that have not been used. Reserved albumin export licences cannot be transferred.

Transfers become effective from the date when MPI notifies the transferor and the transferee.

Transfers cannot be registered during the last 15 days of the quota year to which the licence applies.

Registering the transfer of export licences

Both the transferor and the transferee will need to apply in writing to the chief executive of MPI for registration of the transfer on the register of export licence holders.

Note that for each transfer concerning a different designated market and quota year, we’ll require a separate application.

Find out what you need for a transfer

If you’re planning a transfer, then you’ll need to submit an application with the following information:

• the full name, address, and contact details of both yourself and the transferee (including a contact name, phone number, and email address)
• the designated market
• the volume of export licences
• the date the export licences were first allocated or registered to the transferor.

Transferring an export licence – Application form [PDF, 249 KB]

Once you've got approval to export to a designated market, you'll need to develop a Quota Compliance Programme (QCP) and get it approved.

A QCP is a document designed to ensure a dairy quota product meets the access requirements of a designated market. It's your responsibility to put it together, and make sure it outlines the various manufacturing, storage, testing, and export procedures.

As an exporter, you can have a QCP for both manufacturing and exporting. Or, you can have a QCP for exporting and source dairy products from a manufacturer with a QCP.

Note that if you are allocated export licences, you must register an approved QCP in order to use them. You may also be declined further allocations of export licences in future years if you do not register an approved QCP.

Make sure your QCP meets the requirements

You need to develop your QCP document to meet the requirements of the Animal Products (Regulated Control Scheme – Dairy Export Quota Products) Regulations 2008, as well as the Animal Products Notice: Dairy Export Quota Products and Related Export Approvals.

Your QCP will need to detail how you meet the requirements of the regulations and the Notice for the particular designated market.

The Animal Products (Regulated Control Scheme - Dairy Export Quota Products) Regulations 2008 

Animal Products Notice: Regulated Control Scheme - Dairy Export Quota Products and Related Export Approvals [PDF, 394 KB]

Fill out the validation sheet

Once you've developed your QCP, use the validation sheet to ensure you've ticked all the right boxes. This is important, as we'll audit your QCP prior to approval.

QCP validation sheet [DOC, 196 KB]

Get your QCP approved

When you've developed your QCP and checked it against the QCP validation sheet, you're ready to send it to MPI.

Email it to approvals@mpi.govt.nz and QMSCertificationand.ExportApproval@mpi.govt.nz

AP52 – Application form for submitting QCP for approval [PDF, 304 KB]

Once you've got an export licence and a QCP, you'll need to apply for export approval from MPI before the consignment leaves New Zealand. This is commonly issued as a certificate or authorisation.

You apply using the web-based Quota Management System (QMS). To get access to QMS, email eCert.Admin@mpi.govt.nz

When applying for access, ask for the web link and user access. Each user needs to have their own login.

When you apply for export approval, we'll process the request in the QMS. If you're successful, we'll print the necessary certificates. We also use the QMS to manage dairy industry quota.

When applying, you'll need to provide basic dairy quota product information, as well as information about the exporter. You can provide these details using the dairy quota product specification application form.

Dairy quota product specification application form [PDF, 109 KB]

If approved, you'll receive an export approval, which is determined by the requirements of the designated market. For example, quota butter going to the EU would require an IMA 1 certificate, while cheese going to the USA would require authorisation issued online within the QMS.

Make a Summary of Records declaration

You'll also need to supply a Summary of Records declaration. We need one of these declarations for every consignment where you seek export approval.

View Summary of Records templates [PDF, 101 KB]

When you've filled out the application form and provided a Summary of Records declaration, email it to QMSCertificationand.ExportApproval@mpi.govt.nz

Understanding the Quota Management Register (QMR)

Alongside the QMS, we also maintain a Quota Management Register. We use the QMR to manage dairy product information and volumes of export licensing.

Some of the information includes:

• quota periods
• export licence holders and allocations
• remaining volumes of export licence
• approved product specifications for dairy product.

You're ready to export when you have all of the required licences, documents and approvals.

Make sure you've:

• registered as an exporter (see Step 1) 
• applied for and received an export licence (Step 1)
• put together a QCP and had it validated and approved (Step 2)
• applied for and received export approval (Step 3)
• made a Summary of Records declaration (Step 3).

Other requirements

Finally, the importing country authorities and New Zealand authorities may require any or all of the following:

• a health or sanitary certificate
• a country of origin certificate
• a valid import licence
• a valid customs export entry.

Find out more about exporting dairy products