Fruit and food brought into the country by tourists and not declared is turning into something of a cash cow for the government.
Figures released under the Official Information Act showed Biosecurity New Zealand, in the year to November 28 last year, issued 7485 infringements to passengers at the country’s four international airports for tourists illegally bringing in food and fruit.
At $400 an infringement, fines would have tallied just under $3 million.
The fruit and other food brought into the country was varied, but apples were far and away the most illegally brought-in food.
Considering the country produces hundred of thousands of tonnes of apples a year — 343,000 tonnes of apples were exported in 2022 — it is rather odd to consider why tourists are bringing apples into the country.
There were 1837 people prosecuted for bringing apples into the country and not declaring them.
Bananas — which again are not usually in short supply in New Zealand — were next, with 883 fines.
The list of foods is a long one, with more than 500 fines handed out for bringing in cooked meat.
Unbelievably there were more than 30 fines handed out for not declaring kiwifruit.
Most of the fines were handed out at Auckland International Airport.
Biosecurity New Zealand border clearance service commissioner north Mike Inglis said Biosecurity New Zealand had strict rules and strong protective measures in place to prevent pests and diseases entering the country and damaging its $57billion primary sector export industry.
It had a "declare or dispose" public information campaign which helped educate inbound travellers about strict biosecurity requirements.
In addition, offshore campaigns were delivered in China, India and Australia, targeting those considering a trip to New Zealand.
Biosecurity NZ frontline teams have also recently introduced biosecurity hosts to greet international travellers and ensure they know how to navigate the biosecurity system.
Travellers may be issued a warning rather than an infringement notice in certain circumstances, such as the passenger being in emotional distress, 17 or younger, or having a serious health condition.
The fines are considered a "strict liability" offence, which means someone can break the law even if they did not mean to — like a speeding ticket or parking fine. Passengers are issued an infringement notice when they receive a fine.
Where someone tries to intentionally bring in banned items, Biosecurity New Zealand can prosecute the person involved.
Airport Infringements
Auckland: 5192
Christchurch: 781
Queenstown: 905
Wellington: 607
Total: 7485
The items involved
Item Auckland Christchurch Queenstown Wellington
Apple 1282 214 202 139
Banana 631 92 105 55
Mandarin 471 129 84 61
Cooked Meat 386 25 120 23
Honey 253 62 83 42
Pork meat 277 34 32 54
Orange 272 41 28 20
Chicken meat 198 5 8 23
Other 155 17 11 31
Chicken egg 157 23 19 5
Pear 87 14 23 10
Lemon 61 8 10 1
Beef meat 93 2 7 15
Tomato 47 4 8 9
Mango 54 6 2 2
Lime 50 5 5 2
Plum/Pluots 30 10 9 9
Pork/sausage casing 41 4 3 10
Avocado 33 4 7 3
Kiwifruit 23 4 11 1
- Staff reporter
