China has still given no indication as to when New Zealand infant formula producers who have been locked out of the Chinese market may be allowed to resume exporting.
Eight significant formula manufacturers, including Synlait, remain unable to export tinned formula to China after China introduced new criteria this year.
Infant Nutrition Council chief executive Jan Carey said while Australian formula companies had had their case revisited by the Chinese, there was no indication when they'll get around to having another look at New Zealand.
"So it's taking a lot longer than everybody thought. I can tell you the Australians didn't do very well in the first round - they only got two manufacturers registered," Ms Carey said.
"They've now had another two manufacturers registered as of earlier last week. And the New Zealand list hasn't been looked at again."
A Ministry for Primary Industries spokesperson said it did not know what the timeframe for registration for the eight manufacturers was but that it had carried out verification audits of them all.
