New Zealand Advances Digital and OTC Medicine Labelling to Boost Exports

Regulation Minister David Seymour has today announced the completion of the Ministry for Regulation’s Product Labelling Review, which will make it easier for Kiwi exporters to sell to international markets and for international companies to sell their products in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s labelling regime drives up prices and limits wage growth. We need to unlock New Zealand’s economic potential. So we’re fixing that, Mr Seymour says.

Currently exporters face extra compliance costs preparing products for overseas markets, while consumers miss out on global goods because importers face differences in labelling requirements.

Recommendations from the review have been accepted by the government which will make changes to digital labelling requirements and over-the-counter (OTC) medicines labelling. Decisions on the rest of the review are yet to be made.

Kiwi exporters want to be able to use digital labelling to convey product information. It allows labels to updated in real time, reduces costs associated with physical labels which have limited space and are difficult to update, and supports export growth because international markets are moving ahead with digital product information, Mr Seymour says.

Currently there is no digital labelling standard in New Zealand. This makes it risky for companies to use digital labels, because they don’t know what information can be conveyed digitally or what needs to remain on a physical label.

We will be developing a national standard to make digital labelling a viable option. This will not replace physical labels, but it will give businesses the option to adopt the current global standard. Too often red tape means Kiwis miss the boat. Not this time.

The digital labelling recommendations are estimated to generate approximately $111 million in net benefits over 10 years.

OTC medicines are one example of where New Zealand’s product labelling regime leads to Kiwis missing out on goods. Medicines sold at pharmacies in Australia must be specially re-labelled in line with New Zealand labelling requirements so they can be sold at Pharmacies in New Zealand.

The harsh reality is that international companies don’t consider it a privilege to invest in New Zealand. We are a small market. If we force international companies to pay a premium to stock their products on our shelves, they won’t bother. Other countries are cheaper, have larger populations and more customers.

We’re fixing that. If over the counter medical products are good enough for people across the ditch, they’re good enough for us. We will be aligning product labelling requirements with Australia. This will mean less medicines require a specialised label just for New Zealand.

This will make us a more attractive destination for international companies selling OTC medicines and will lead to more Kiwis accessing the OTC medicines they need.

Red tape isn’t neutral; it’s a tax on productivity and growth. We need to continue cutting red tape if we are going to unlock New Zealand’s potential.

The full report can be found here: https://www.regulation.govt.nz/about-us/our-publications/product-labelling-regulatory-review-final-report/