Exporting pallets to New Zealand

Treatment plus biosecurity

Solid wood packaging entering New Zealand is expected to be treated and marked in line with ISPM15. Alongside that, the country operates a biosecurity regime concerned with contamination of any kind arriving with a consignment — soil, seeds, plant material, insects and other organic matter, on the goods, in the container or on the pallet.

An economy with significant agricultural and forestry sectors has good reason for this, and the practical effect for an exporter is that the pallet is assessed on what is on it as well as what it is made of.

What tends to cause problems

The recurring issues are not exotic. They are pallets stored on bare ground, bark left on components, seeds and plant debris caught in joints, and damp timber that has begun to grow mould over a long sea transit. All are avoidable at the point of purchase and loading.

Specify for the transit

The UK to New Zealand sea route is long. Whatever moisture is in the pallets when the container is sealed stays in the container, cycling through heating and cooling until the doors open. For moisture-sensitive goods, dry pallets are worth specifying explicitly rather than assuming.

• Treated and marked wood packaging, legible on opposing faces
• Visibly clean and free of soil, bark, seeds and plant debris
• Dry stock, stored under cover
• Dunnage and bracing to the same standard
• Container inspected before packing

Where to confirm the current position

Import requirements are published by New Zealand's primary industries ministry. Confirm the current position there and with a forwarder used to the route before committing to a specification.