Replacing our trade certification systems

Moving to a new trade certification system

The new Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Trade Certification system will replace many 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.

MPI Trade Certification will be a single integrated and digital trade certification system. 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.

Industry will start using the new system during the second half of 2024. They will move to MPI Trade Certification in different stages, by sector group. All exporters will have moved to the new system by the end of 2025.

MPI Trade Certification will replace:

manual certification systems for organics, live animal exports and food
Tahora, for exchange of electronic certificates
Wine E-cert
ePhyto
AP E-cert
dairy quota systems.

Existing trade certification systems need replacing

Our current systems are a combination of digital systems and paper processes.

These were developed independent of each other and at different times. Because of this, some businesses use multiple systems and make multiple requests to get the certificates they need for a consignment. This makes it less efficient for businesses to export their products.

These systems are now out of date, which makes them difficult and costly to update.

We need a new system that is built for the future

MPI Trade Certification 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 replace 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

MPI Trade Certification 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
enable the reduction of paper certificates for import and export
enable less rework and back and forth communication with industry
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.

Businesses will move to MPI Trade Certification

If you use MPI's existing trade certification systems, you will move to the new MPI Trade Certification system sometime between the second 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, 116 KB]

We will start with changes to low-volume, low-risk certification and build up to changes that involve 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 require no changes from business.

Releases 1 and 1.1 were successfully rolled out in January and March 2024. These releases involve MPI certification staff manually entering information into MPI Trade Certification and using it to generate paper certificates to be used as the official assurance for export.

Releases 1 and 1.1 involve only a small set of certificates:

organics to Great Britain, Japan, and Taiwan
horses to Australia
free sale certificates
free sale statements.

Release 2 successfully rolled out in July 2024. MPI biosecurity staff are now viewing and managing import certificates that have been received electronically in MPI Trade Certification, which has replaced the Tahora system.

In October 2024, we will deploy Release 3 which includes the part of MPI Trade Certification that most external users will input information into. This will be the first time external users will access the new system.

Sector groups will start using the MPI Trade Certification at different stages. Release 3 includes specific functionality for wine businesses and exporters, exporters of organic products to Great Britain and requesters of free sale certificates

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.

Release 4 will see the introduction of business to government functionality, for the plant sector (including horticulture, forestry and seed) initially.

Currently it is planned that 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 enter the product and market into MPI Trade Certification, and it will tell you which certificates you need and can optionally request. Businesses will be able to request multiple certificates in a single request, such as phytosanitary and organic certificates.
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: MPI Trade Certification 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 MPI Trade Certification will mean for them
communicate the changes early so businesses can be ready
support the industry through the changes.

We continue to regularly meet with industry representatives and groups throughout the rollout of the programme to keep them updated with progress and seek their feedback to support the programme.

Talk with us and stay informed

If your business will use MPI Trade Certification, 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 MPI Trade Certification.

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

Stay informed about the Future of Certification Programme by registering with us. You’ll receive invitations to our industry hui and periodic newsletters.

If you want to speak with us or register with us, email futurecertification@mpi.govt.nz