Export sales slump in wake of 1080 milk scare
Fallout from the 1080 baby formula scare is hitting sales as news of the blackmail threat goes global.
Orders from our biggest dairy market, China, have slumped and the Chinese Government has announced no milk powder will be let through until it is tested.
Supermarkets say it is too soon to say what impact the 1080 scare has had on local sales.
Prime Minister John Key yesterday defended the decision to go public with the scare, which was revealed on Tuesday by police and the Ministry for Primary Industries.
Letters containing deadly amounts of 1080 poison were emailed to Federated Farmers and Fonterra last November threatening to contaminate infant formula supplies unless the Government stopped using 1080 poison for pest eradication.
Health officials said only tiny amounts of poison – no more than 20 milligrams – would be needed for a deadly dose.
Police are appealing for public help finding the blackmailer as they start questioning known 1080 opponents.
The Government has signed off an urgent regulation making possession of high purity 1080 illegal without the appropriate approval.
Opposition MPs yesterday accused the Government of ramping up the stakes by labelling the blackmail threat an act of eco terrorism.
‘‘It has already played into the hands of our international trade competitors after the phrase was repeated in overseas publications,‘‘ Labour’s Damien O’Connor said.
‘‘John Key is overplaying what is effectively the work of an independent idiot and nutter.’’
NZ First said it was a distraction from the Northland byelection.
Key confirmed on Wednesday that the decision to go public was against advice from the international community.
But staying silent was not tenable, he said.
The blackmailer had threatened to go public if the Government did not bow to his or her demands before the end of March.
‘‘The overall decision [to go public] was made by myself and a senior group of ministers a long time ago,’’ Key said.
‘‘That was because I thought, once you got to the point at which the threat date went beyond that a) we have a good story to tell, are very confident about the safety of the product, and b) I think we owe it to consumers to say, look, just be a bit more vigilant because this is out there.’’
Reuters reported on Wednesday that Chinese demand for New Zealand infant formula had slumped following the 1080 threat, with some orders slashed by up to 70 per cent.
China had announced it was stepping up measures to examine milk powder despite assurances from the New Zealand government that there was no evidence 1080 had entered the supply chain.
That included a demand that all milk powder carried an official certificate stating that it does not contain 1080.