Tongans regularly take home or send gifts of meat or fresh fruit from New Zealand to the kingdom.
However, the kingdom’s Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Fisheries (MAFFF) is concerned at the number of cases where goods have to be confiscated and destroyed because their senders have ignored or do not understand the rules on importing meat and fruit.
Confiscations mean people lose the money they spent on buying the goods.
They can also face fines for breaking the law.
A spokesman for MAFFF said he believed many people broke the import regulations simply because they didn’t know what the rules were.
People sending produce to Tonga face two sets of regulations for goods imported from New Zealand.
One if for goods that travel with the passenger as part of their baggage and the other is for goods that travel on their own.
The materials most commonly sent to Tonga are fruit and meat.
Fresh fruit
Passengers travelling to Tonga can take 20kg of fruit with them.
All fruit landed at Fua’amotu Airport will be inspected. If it passes inspection a Plant Import Permit and Quarantine Entry will be issued.
If it does not meet the importation requirements it may be confiscated and destroyed.
The following are the regulations for accompanying fresh fruit from New Zealand:
All fruit must be declared upon arrival and will be inspected at the Quarantine Office at Fua’amotu airport.
The passenger must show evidence that the fruit was purchased in New Zealand by providing an original receipt as proof of purchase.
MAFF has warned that if shipments of accompanied fruits were not purchased in New Zealand they will be destroyed.
Consignment weighing more than 20 kg per adult passenger will be confiscated.
Meat
The situation for meat is more complicated.
Regulations apply only to non-commercial importation; that is, meat brought into the country for private use and not re-sale.
Meat can be brought in from New Zealand, Australia, the United States or Vanuatu.
Meat from Samoa or Fiji is prohibited.
The cost of an import permit at the airport nor other point of entry varies from TP$13.80 to TP$19.55.
Passenger can bring in a maximum of 20kg of meat products per adult.
All meat products must be in unbroken, sealed, commercial packaging and passengers must be able to produce a receipt showing where the meat was bought. The country of origin must be clearly visible.
According to the Ministry, these regulations apply to any private consignment of New Zealand origin meat, meat products, dairy products, egg products or products with New Zealand origin, meat/dairy/egg ingredients from any country.
For more information
MAFFF quarantine office
List of fruit allowed from New Zealand
| Name of Fruit | Scientific Name |
| Apple (fresh fruit) | Malus spp. |
| Avocado (fresh fruit) | Persea Americana |
| Balsam pear | Momordica charantia |
| Blueberry | Vaccinium spp. |
| Cape gooseberry | Physalis peruviana |
| Cardoon | Cynara cardunculus |
| Citrus (fresh fruit) | Citrus spp. |
| Cranberry (fresh fruit) | Vaccinium macrocarpon |
| Currant (fresh fruit) | Ribe spp. |
| Feijoa (fresh fruit) | Feijoa sellowiana |
| Grabe (fresh fruit) | Vitis spp. |
| Nashi fruit(fresh fruita) | Pyrus pyrifolia |
| Olive | Olea europea |
| Pear (fresh fruit) | Pyrus communis |
| Nectarine (fresh fruit) | Prunus persica |
| Kiwifruits (fresh fruit) | Actinidia deliciosa |
| Pepino (pear melon ) | Solanum muricatum |
| Persimmon (fresh fruit) | Diospyros virginiana |
| Apricot (fresh fruit) | Prunus armeniaca |
| Peach (fresh fruit) | Prunus persica |
| Cherry (fresh fruit) | Prunus spp. |
| Strawberry (fresh fruit) | Fragaria ananassa |
| Cumquat (kumquat )(fresh fruit) | Fortunella margarita |
| Lemon (fresh fruit) | Citrus limon |
| Mandarin (fresh fruit) | Citrus reticulata |
| Orange (fresh fruit) | Citrus sinensis |
| Plum (fresh fruit) | Purunus domestica |
| Satsuma mandarin(fresh fruit) | Citrus reticulata |
| Citrus Seville orange (fresh) | Citrus aurantium |
| Lychee (fresh fruit) | Litchi chinensis |
| Nashi (fresh fruit) | Pyrus spp. |
| Persimmon (fresh fruit) | Diospyros kaki |
List of meat products permitted into Tonga (with import requirements) by country of origin
| Animal product [meat] | Requirements | Origin |
| Beef/Venison/Buffalo [sausage, luncheon, saveloys, meat, hot dogs, frankfurters, pies] | Cooked, uncooked (frozen, chilled, smoked, salted and dried) | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America, Vanuatu |
| Poultry, including turkey, duck, chicken, ostrich. [carcasses, pieces, sausage, luncheon meat, frankfurters and offal] | Cooked, uncooked (including frozen, smoked, dried and chilled) | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America |
| Pig meat [ham, sausage, bacon, saveloys, luncheon meat, hot dogs, pies, salami and frankfurters] | Frozen and cooked | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America |
| Chilled only | Australia, New Zealand | |
| Sheep and goat meat [mutton and lamb] | Cooked, uncooked (frozen, chilled, smoked, salted and dried) | Australia, New Zealand |
| Sheep offal | must be frozen and/or cooked | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America |
| Chicken eggs | Unfertilised and clean, commercially packaged | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America |
| Milk products [yoghurt, cheese, milk, ice cream, UHT products] | Commercially packaged | Australia, New Zealand, United States of America |
The main points
- Tonga’s kingdom’s Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Food and Fisheries is concerned at the number of cases where goods have to be confiscated and destroyed because their senders have ignored or do not understand the rules on importing meat and fruit.
- Confiscations mean people lose the money they spent on buying the goods.
- They can also face fines for breaking the law.
- A spokesman for MAFFF said he believed many people broke the import regulations simply because they didn’t know what the rules were.
