6/2/2005 New Zealand Press Association, Ashburton - Mid Canterbury graingrowers are concerned at the potential risk of bird flu posed by importingpalm kernel from Malaysia.

As Asia battles an outbreak of the H5N1 strain of the disease which hasresulted in several deaths, farmers in New Zealand are alarmed at thepossible biosecurity risk.

New Zealand annually imports 100,000 tonnes of the soap manufacturingwaste product for use as a feed supplement on farms, mainly utilised bythe dairy industry.

Valetta grain grower and mid Canterbury Federated Farmers grains sectionvice chairman David Clark said today he was among farmers throughout NewZealand calling for importers to provide proof of the safety of theproduct.

Reports had been received of palm kernel being contaminated with birddroppings and the concern is that diseases, mainly avian bird flu, couldbe carried in the product. The concern is risk of contamination from wildbirds gaining access to stored product awaiting shipment from Malaysia.

Mr Clark said an outbreak of avian bird flu would decimate the poultryindustry, ruin the local high quality feed grain industry, and create ahuman health risk.

Farmers were demanding to know why New Zealand's biosecurity protocolswere less stringent than Australia's, as legislators across the Tasmanwould not allow the cheap animal food supplement into Australia.

Mr Clark was backing up concerns raised nationally by the Grains Councilof New Zealand.

Spokesman Colin MacKinnon said Malaysia is known to harbour not just avianbird flu, but also exotic forms of salmonella and foot and mouth disease.

``Palm kernel is one of the very few feed supplements allowed directly onto farms throughout New Zealand and if the product was contaminated thesituation would be serious in the extreme and cost of remedy prohibitivein such a situation,'' Mr MacKinnon said.

``The high quality grains we produce under highly transparent systems inNew Zealand would count for naught,'' he said.

But mid Canterbury dairy farmers are not as concerned by the issue, andsay as long as the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry was doing its jobproperly, there should be not be potential for the disease to spread.

Federated Farmers Mid Canterbury dairy section chairman Willy Leferinksaid feed grain was the preferred feed for dairy farmers in midCanterbury, although some palm kernel was fed.

In the North Island big quantities of palm kernel was used because it wasmore competitive cost-wise with feed grain than in the South Island.