Samantha Gray: Natural Health Product Government Affairs Director on the possible changes to dietary supplement export regulations
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What changes are being proposed to dietary supplement export and labeling rules?
There's a shake up coming uh for the dietary supplement industry. So the idea is to ease export and labelling rules. Sector's currently worth two point three billion. Betcha that came as a surprise too. You realise that? Two point three billion. Suggestion is these changes could unlock another half billion. Samantha Gray is the Natural Health Products New Zealand Government Affairs Director and is with us. Samantha, good morning. Good morning Mike.
Why does the industry view the new export rules as a $500 million opportunity?
Industry all over this? Is there general agreement this is good thinking?
Yes, um everyone's delighted. It's been a a long, long journey, but there's a huge opportunity and it's fantastic that Minister Hogarth's uh taken up the reins from the work we started back in twenty twenty one and we've we've got a result.
Seems the easiest thing to do. So just to explain it to everybody and correct me if I'm wrong, when you export to whatever country you export to, your labelling is to that country, not this and that, thus simplifying your export detail. Is that right?
Yeah, that's correct. We have um sort of a normally in our regulations here where exports at the moment have to comply with our domestic regulations, which are circa nineteen eighty five, so completely out of date. uh in countries all around the world they have their own regulations so we're kinda stuck in between a rock and a hard place.
But if I but if I'm exporting to Vietnam, what what does it matter what the rules here are?
How do current New Zealand regulations force exporters to follow outdated 1985 standards?
Well, that's what you'd think, but our government, uh, you know, according to the law has uh has said no, we need to have an export exemption in order to um to legally comply with the Vietnamese regulations when they differ for composition and labelling.
How absurd. But w do you run into any potential problem if you're a company that exports to Vietnam plus sells in New Zealand, do you suddenly now have to run two different labels?
Yeah, that's correct. But I mean you have to do that anyway because uh if you're exporting to Vietnam or another country, the the labels all differ. So it's it's less of that problem. It's more of the access problem into those markets which has been uh um restricted at a regulatory level in some markets, but also means we can't compete on on shelf because we can't make the claims that are permitted in other countries and so consumers, you know, they look look at our products and think, Well, that's not as good as as that other one, so we we lose that business.
Well I'm very glad that's been sorted. This won't be done pre election, I'm assuming. Uh so therefore would the other guys, if they win, will they pick it up and run with it, do you know?
Well, I hope so.
What impact will the rule changes have on accessing foreign markets like Vietnam?
I have been talking to to them, so yeah, we're fingers crossed. But we need one more last technical sign off by Minister Brown. For um for Minister Hogard. uh you know, pathway to come to fruition and it's a technicality that's Oh
that's old Simeon. Simeon will sort that out, won't he?
I mean it's stuck in in the in the in the bowels of health, shall we say. So we we just need to to move that forward and we've we've written to him yesterday asking for an urgent action on this.
Good. All right. Next time I talk to him I'll ask him about it. Hoggard won't be held back by a bit of brown pr trouble. I wouldn't imagine Samantha Grey.
What are the remaining political steps needed before the new export framework is approved?
Natural health products New Zealand goes, Isn't it amazing we can still talk about stuff in twenty twenty six that when you hear the detail you go, How's that possible? How is that possible, eh?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What changes are being proposed to dietary supplement export and labeling rules?
0:00–0:20
2
Why does the industry view the new export rules as a $500 million opportunity?
0:20–1:17
3
How do current New Zealand regulations force exporters to follow outdated 1985 standards?
1:17–2:20
4
What impact will the rule changes have on accessing foreign markets like Vietnam?
2:20–2:51
5
What are the remaining political steps needed before the new export framework is approved?
2:51–3:07
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