Fumigation adds thousands to campervan costs
A campervan owner who wants to import a vehicle from the United Kingdom says the cost of treating it against the brown marmorated stink bug was ‘‘unjustifiable’’ at $4000.
Ka¯ piti resident Steve Woolley said the amount quoted was a ‘‘rip-off’’ and the shipping company was unable to assure him there wouldn’t be more costs.
‘‘There is a specified time between treatment and loading on to a ship . . . otherwise the process will have to be carried out all over again,’’ Woolley said.
Vehicle importers and removals firms confirmed there were major costs for the industry but for a good reason – to protect New Zealand’s horticultural industry.
Vehicle Importers Association chief executive David Vinsen said dealing with the new anti-stink bug regime had taken most of his time last year.
‘‘I understand one shipping company lost millions of dollars when it was turned away.’’
Local providers in the UK and Japan, accredited by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), had to be used, Vinsen said.
‘‘Probes have to be inserted into remote parts of the vehicles, and often they had to be heattreated in addition to fumigation. It’s not a simple exercise, and campervans are more difficult,’’ he said.
The cost for most cars was a few hundred dollars usually.
‘‘We’ve been working with horticultural groups and they’re petrified at the potential consequences so we just have to do it,’’ Vinsen said.
Peter Gale, who owns Associated Coach Services, which imports vehicles, said new biosecurity requirements had created many shipping delays and huge costs.
‘‘But it’s estimated the kiwifruit harvest could be decimated by a third or more if the stink bug got in,’’ Gale said.
‘‘Three or four months ago people didn’t know anything about this. There’s only one treatment station in the UK that’s about 30 kilometres from the port and when the vehicle has been treated it has to be covered for transportation.
‘‘In one case a shipping company decided it wouldn’t take any used vehicles, so we had to change arrangements. I understand the new buses for Wellington have been delayed by about six weeks because of this.’’
Gale said campervans had to be heat-treated because fumigation wasn’t guaranteed to get into all the nooks and crannies.
‘‘They’ve got doors, cubicles, mattresses, carpets. Cars are a little easier,’’ Gale said.
Conroy Removals branch manager Rodney White confirmed that extra costs were passed back to shippers.
‘‘Everyone is on high alert. We’ve had an occasion in recent times when we opened a container from the US that had a couple of live bugs and a couple of dead ones,’’ White said.
‘‘We closed it immediately and called MPI officials, who put a tarpaulin over it and hit it with heavy fumigating chemicals. It’s up to the importer, whether it’s furniture or vehicles or machinery, to ensure it’s been cleaned to within an inch of its life.’’
White said vehicles were placed in an area already sprayed with chemicals in case anything fell out.
‘‘If it’s camping gear we have to put the tent up and check it. If it’s a vehicle we have to check the radiator and pick anything out of it that looks like an insect. We spend hours cleaning and MPI might still require fumigation.’’
MPI released new import health standards for vehicles, machinery and equipment in September last year.
Brown marmorated stink bugs spread fast, and feed heavily on a wide variety of plants including grapes, kiwifruit, apples, citrus and stone fruit, and corn.