New Zealand’s billion dollar agri-chemical industry is applauding a long awaited opportunity to address data protection for its products.

Agcarm chief executive Graeme Peters said the release of a discussion paper on the eve of the industry’s annual conference this week was a huge boost and a great step forward.

The data behind agricultural chemicals and animal health remedies in New Zealand have protection from competitors for just five years – a policy that is not in line with other developed countries. After five years, other companies can use the intellectual property (IP) to develop their own compounds, which can usually be sold cheaper because the initial research and development cost don’t exist for them.

Mr Peters said this policy has meant New Zealand has missed out on more effective agri-chemicals for crop protection and animal health because manufacturers were unwilling to put the IP at risk.

“Overseas the data protection regime is much stricter,” Mr Peters said. Products developed by usually agri-chemical companies have 10 years protection.

“It’s very weak here and farmers and growers are missing out on new technology.”

However, this is at odds with a study commissioned by the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) and the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA), which didn’t identify “any significant issues with respect to the length of the data protection period for innovative new products.”

The study concluded there was no evidence provided that the current five year period was inhibiting the flow of products onto the New Zealand market.

However, the study did find that current data protection rules might be inhibiting the registration or approval of new uses of existing products, or reformulations of products using existing chemistry.

The consultation document released by the NZFSA, noted that the industry contended data protection was inadequate here.

A counter view that suggested data protection inhibits competition and increases prices, favouring multinationals over smaller companies was discounted in the report.

“[Counter arguments are] unnecessary as originating companies gain adequate advantage by being the first on the market, corporate research and development investments routinely benefit competitors and companies have no special entitlement to compensation for this fact.”

The NZFSA paper seeks stakeholders’ views on possible options for changes to New Zealand’s data protection regime.

Mr Peters said agri-chemical manufacturers simply don’t want to be “ripped off” in New Zealand.

He said there was virtually no protection for the hundreds of thousands of dollars companies invest in research and development of their products.

Submissions on the document close on September 12.

Agcarm is the industry association for companies that manufacture, distribute and sell pesticides, herbicides and animal health remedies.

The organizations seeks 10 year exclusive protection for innovative substances and new uses and formulations of existing substances.

There is no protection for few uses or new formulations currently.