7th February 2024 – News Release
2024 will be a watershed year for growers of certified seed in New Zealand.
A new Seed Certification Information System will be implemented soon and field production standards for seed certification are being updated for the first time in nearly 10 years.
Possibly the most significant change for seed growers will be in the way certification charges are invoiced.
Until now, invoices for the costs associated with getting crops certified such as inspections and testing, have come from AsureQuality, the industry’s certification service provider and independent verification authority.
But from next month, growers will receive an invoice from the New Zealand Seeds Authority (NZSA), the organisation which built the Seed Certification Information System and determines how seed certification is administered in NZ.
The new NZSA invoices will show the certification charges and levies, previously incorporated into the AsureQuality invoices.
Grower payments for the NZSA invoices will help cover operating costs for the National Seed Certification Office and allow it to recover the cost of building the new certification system.
The new invoicing arrangement came about through Federated Farmers Arable representation on the NZSA Executive and has been welcomed by growers.
The NZSA invoices will list certification charges based on a rate per kilogram of machine-dressed seed. This rate is anticipated to be around 6c/kg for small seeds and 1.2c/kg for grain.
Charges will be shared equally between growers and seed companies for proprietary seeds. For multiplication crops grown for re-export, growers will pay 75% of the charges.
For commodity seeds such as Nui perennial ryegrass and Huia white clover, growers will pay 100% of the charges. A 10-tonne line of Nui ryegrass is likely to cost a grower around $600 in certification charges.
Some seed companies are already paying for certification costs as part of their grower contract for selected crop types, so these agreements will not be affected by the new invoicing arrangement.
For further please contact:
George Gerard
Manager NZSA
E: ggerard@pggwrightsonseeds.co.nz
Ph: (+64) 27 4474807 web: www.nzseedsauthority.com
