Review finds multimillion dollar benefits possible for farmers and growers
27 February 2025
The Government has accepted all recommendations from the Ministry for Regulation’s Agricultural and Horticultural Products Regulatory Review.
This is the Ministry's first major regulatory review to have its recommendations taken to Cabinet.
Cabinet accepted all 16 recommendations – including ones to reduce application queues and accelerate assessments under the product approval pathway.
The current waiting time for a new complex product application can be over five years. The review found that if that could be reduced by half, it could generate benefits of $272 million over 20 years to farmers and growers.
Scenario analysis of economic impacts (831 KB, Pdf)
Ministers have announced next steps focusing on actions to cut waiting times, and to establish a Sector Leaders Forum to bring regulators and the sector to the table to help provide greater transparency and oversight of the approval system.
The review ran from August to December 2024 and looked at approval process for new agricultural and horticultural products. It was triggered by concern that additional regulatory burden on the farmers and growers wanting to use these products was impacting New Zealand’s international competitiveness.
More information
Read more about the review, including full and summary reports: