A new treatment for vehicles imported from the United States will help keep the brown marmorated stink bug out of the country, the Ministry for Primary Industries says.
Under the new rules, all new and used cars, trucks, machinery, boats and parts imported from the States must be heat treated or fumigated with methyl bromide before being shipped to New Zealand.
"In the past, we did not require mandatory treatment prior to shipping from the United States," MPI Biosecurity and Environment manager Paul Hallett said.
"Instead new vehicles were assessed on arrival by quarantine officers and only those that were considered to be high risk were treated on arrival.
"We've been ramping up our efforts to combat brown marmorated stink bug, but the main driver for the strong new rules has been the recent frequent discoveries of stink bug infestations in new vehicles and machinery consignments from the United States."
There might be a delay before suitable treatment facilities were established in the United States, he said.
As an interim measure, MPI was working with industry to help them establish treatment options for vessels on the water before landing and, as a last resort, on the wharf at Auckland once landed.
The bug was a voracious feeder that severely disfigured fruits and rendered them unmarketable, resulting in control costs and production impacts.
NZME.
