29 Aug 2018
MPI defends action after thousands of seedlings destroyed
Earlier in the programme Paul Paynter, a Hawkes bay fruit grower, accused the Ministry of Primary Industries of costing the industry billions of dollars by ruining its relationship with Clean Plant Center Northwest. The American company has announced it will no longer sell fruit trees to New Zealand after MPI ordered the destruction of 48 thousand seedlings and cuttings it supplied, citing a biosecurity risk. Peter Thompson is the ministry's director of plants and pathways.