If MPI selects your imported goods for an MPI inspection NZ, it does not automatically mean something is wrong with the shipment. The Ministry for Primary Industries may want to check the goods, packaging or supporting information before it gives biosecurity clearance.
For importers, the immediate questions are practical. What happens next? Where will MPI inspect the goods? What can it cost? How long might the hold last? And what documents should you have ready?
MPI inspection NZ: what selection means for your shipment
MPI manages biosecurity risks at the New Zealand border. Its role differs from the New Zealand Customs Service.
Customs deals with matters such as customs entries, tariff classification, duty, GST and Customs restrictions. In contrast, MPI focuses on pests, soil, plant material, animal products, contaminated packaging and other biosecurity risks.
A broker or freight agent may communicate with both agencies on your behalf. As a result, importers sometimes confuse Customs clearance with MPI clearance. They are separate processes.
Who normally tells you about an MPI inspection?
You may first hear about the inspection from your broker, freight forwarder, New Zealand freight agent or the facility holding the cargo.
If the message only says “selected for MPI inspection”, ask what MPI actually wants. The direction could involve a physical inspection, extra documents, treatment or another biosecurity action.
Getting the exact direction matters because it tells you what needs to happen before the shipment can move.
What happens after MPI selects the shipment?
1. The goods stay under biosecurity control
MPI can keep the cargo under biosecurity control while it completes its checks. If an inspector needs to see the goods, the shipment may remain at an MPI-approved transitional facility or another approved location.
2. The facility prepares the cargo
The facility may need to locate pallets, move cartons into an inspection area, remove wrapping or open boxes so MPI can access the goods.
These steps often create separate handling charges. Therefore, even a straightforward inspection can add costs beyond MPI’s own fee.
3. MPI checks the shipment
The inspector may compare the goods with the documents and look for contamination. Common concerns include soil, insects, bark, leaves, plant material, fungi and other unwanted organisms.
Where relevant, the inspector can also check certificates, treatment records or other supporting information.
4. MPI gives clearance or another direction
If everything meets the relevant requirements, MPI can give biosecurity clearance.
If the inspector finds an issue, MPI can require further information, treatment, pest identification or another inspection. More serious problems can lead to reshipment or destruction.
What is a BACC?
You may hear your agent mention a BACC, meaning a Biosecurity Authority/Clearance Certificate.
The document can confirm biosecurity clearance or set out conditions that still need attention. For example, it may direct the cargo to an inspection facility or require another action before release.
Ask your agent whether the BACC confirms clearance or contains an outstanding MPI direction.
What types of imported goods need extra MPI attention?
MPI can inspect many kinds of cargo, so there is no simple list of goods that will always get checked. However, some products carry more obvious biosecurity risks.
Importers should check the applicable MPI requirements before paying a supplier or shipping these goods from China.
Food and food ingredients
Food can include processed foods, dried foods, grains, seeds, nuts, meat, dairy, seafood, honey and products that contain plant or animal ingredients.
Before shipping, ask the supplier for a full ingredient list and accurate product description. Depending on the product, you may also need processing information, treatment details, certificates or permits.
Do not rely on a supplier saying, “We export this all the time.” A product that enters another country without problems may still face different New Zealand requirements.
Wood, bamboo and plant materials
Wood and other plant-derived materials can carry insects, bark, soil, fungi and other contaminants.
This can affect timber, wooden products, bamboo, cane, straw and similar natural materials. For wooden furniture, for example, ask exactly what materials the factory uses and how it processes them.
Wooden pallets, crates and dunnage
Sometimes the product itself presents little risk, but the supplier’s packaging creates the MPI problem.
Wood packaging can include:
- pallets
- wooden crates
- dunnage used to secure cargo
- wooden spacers and blocks
- wooden drums and reels
MPI requires applicable wood packaging to meet New Zealand’s biosecurity rules. Most relevant solid wood packaging must comply with ISPM 15 requirements. MPI can check for pests, bark, soil, fungi and leaves, as well as the relevant treatment marking or certification.
This is particularly important for machinery, furniture, stone, building materials and other heavy products that Chinese factories often pack into timber crates.
Used machinery, vehicles, parts and tyres
Used equipment can carry soil, seeds, plant matter and insects in hard-to-see areas. MPI specifically treats vehicles, machinery, parts and tyres as biosecurity risk goods.
For used machinery, check cleaning and declaration requirements before shipment. Also inspect areas around wheels, tracks, undercarriages and other places where contamination can remain.
Animal products and plant products
Goods containing meat, dairy ingredients, honey, hides, skins, feathers, wool, bone or other animal-derived materials can have specific MPI requirements.
Seeds, grains, nuts and other plant products can also carry pests, diseases or unwanted plant material.
Ask the factory for the actual ingredient or material composition. A biosecurity-sensitive material may only form one small part of the finished product.
Get supplier documents before the goods leave China
If your product could fall under MPI requirements, collect the relevant information while the goods are still with the supplier.
Depending on the product, useful documents may include:
- commercial invoice and packing list
- detailed product descriptions
- ingredient or material composition
- manufacturing or processing information
- manufacturer declarations where required
- treatment certificates where required
- phytosanitary certificates where required
- import permits where required
- wood packaging or ISPM 15 information
- cleaning documentation for applicable used machinery
Not every shipment needs every document on this list. The exact requirements depend on the goods and the relevant Import Health Standard.
However, timing matters. If the factory needed to complete treatment in China or obtain a certificate before export, you may struggle to fix the problem after the cargo arrives in New Zealand.
Vague supplier paperwork can also slow the process. Descriptions such as “parts”, “accessories”, “food products” or “wooden items” may not give the people handling clearance enough information.
If you are still planning the shipment, our guide to importing from China to New Zealand covers the wider import process.
How much can an MPI inspection cost?
There is no single flat fee for every inspection.
As at September 2026, MPI lists its normal biosecurity and general inspector rate at NZ$155.50 per hour excluding GST, or NZ$178.83 including GST. Check the current MPI fee schedule when the inspection occurs because rates can change.
Other costs can also apply:
- MPI travel, waiting or after-hours charges where applicable
- transitional facility or depot handling
- labour to locate, move, open or repack cargo
- storage while the shipment remains on hold
- transport to another facility
- treatment or cleaning
- pest or organism identification
- laboratory work
- reinspection
Therefore, an inspection can cost money even when MPI finds no biosecurity problem and clears the goods.
How long can an MPI inspection delay your shipment?
There is no fixed delay.
A simple physical check may take little time once the facility presents the cargo. However, the overall hold can last longer if documents are missing, the goods need treatment, an organism needs identification or MPI asks for more information.
For that reason, avoid promising a final delivery date until your agent confirms MPI biosecurity clearance.
What should you do when MPI selects your shipment?
- Confirm the hold comes from MPI. Do not assume every border hold relates to Customs.
- Ask for the exact MPI direction. Find out whether MPI wants an inspection, documents, treatment or another action.
- Check where the goods are. Confirm whether the cargo is already at a suitable transitional facility.
- Send documents quickly. Missing information can increase storage and handling costs.
- Ask for expected charges. Separate MPI costs from depot, storage and other third-party fees where possible.
- Wait for MPI clearance. Customs clearance alone does not release goods from MPI biosecurity control.
- Fix the underlying issue. If MPI identifies a supplier packaging, contamination or documentation problem, correct it before the next shipment leaves China.
What if you shipped the goods DDP?
DDP can make an MPI inspection less transparent if the overseas shipping provider controls the New Zealand importer arrangement and local freight providers.
You may need that provider to communicate the MPI direction, arrange access to the cargo and explain any extra inspection or storage costs.
Our guide to DDP shipping from China to New Zealand explains the wider risks that importers should understand before using this structure.
China to New Zealand freight support when MPI selects your cargo
Prestige Sourcing provides China to New Zealand freight forwarding, including supplier collection, consolidation, freight planning and coordination with the New Zealand side of the shipment.
We cannot prevent an MPI inspection or control an MPI biosecurity decision. However, accurate supplier information and the right documentation before departure can reduce avoidable problems when the goods reach New Zealand.
If MPI selects cargo after arrival, we can also help communicate with the relevant freight parties so you understand what MPI has requested and what needs to happen next.
Request a Quote for your next China to New Zealand shipment.
