About the dairy quota programme
The Dominican Republic, the European Union, 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
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 |
47,177,000 |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheddar cheese |
4,361,000 |
1 January to 31 December |
European Union (EU) |
Cheese for processing |
1,670,000 |
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 |
9,000,000¹ |
1 January to 31 December |
United Kingdom | UK transitional tariff rate quota cheese |
30,000,000¹ |
1 January to 31 December |
¹UK transitional tariff rate quota for butter and cheese are transitional quotas as set out in Annex 2A of the United Kingdom Free Trade Agreement – MFAT document [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 | 4,123,288² | 14,136,986² |
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 |
²The 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