Newstalk ZB
A health company founder says the family business has lost a fortune after a shipment from Peru was “ransacked” at a United States port. Corin Storkey and his wife Sally Storkey run Seleno Health and say nobody is accepting liability for more than $100,000 worth of stock being ruined. The couple believe customs agents searching for drugs caused the damage. The company was importing Peruvian cacao and maca for stockists and online customers. Maca (lepidium meyenii), or Peruvian ginseng, is used in Andean traditional medicine. And the organic ceremonial cacao paste is derived from cacao beans, which are the basis for chocolate. Storkey said the shipment was supposed to arrive on February 25. Instead, he said he was devastated to find the shipment arrived a month late with hundreds of cartons sliced open. “If we’d spoken a week ago, I’d still be in tears right now.” The Storkeys had hoped the shipment would help them get through the cost of living crisis. “It’s going to be a really long road ahead.” Storkey said the relevant shipping line and insurance company accepted no liability. But he said members of the community had rallied to support the family business. He said Seleno was based on principles of fair trade, sustainability and supporting indigenous communities. “We started a business that was all about family and connection, really helping support biodiversity,” he told the Herald. Musician Taylor Sol would host an event at Eastwest Yoga in Ponsonby tonight to raise funds. Storkey said he wanted to warn others about the potential risks of bringing goods through the US. He said the shipment went via Colombia and California before arriving wrecked in New Zealand. He said the total container value of stock was $219,000 and potential salvageable stock was perhaps half that. He said it would cost about $10,000 to recover and repackage salvaged stock safely. He estimated a monthly loss of income, while being out of stock, at $20,000 to $30,000 and Seleno also paid about $40,000 in GST. He wondered if US authorities were overzealously targeting shipments from South America. Drug testing was normal, and sometimes the company lost about 1% of a shipment. “But to be ransacked like this ... it’s so unusual.” Storkey said it seemed customs agents ripped open box after box, even after finding no illicit goods. “It just seems bizarre ... surely these agents have better ways of detecting drugs? “The main thing we want to do is draw attention to some of the struggles small businesses face, particularly when importing products from overseas.” Storkey said the importer told him the ransacking was “unprecedented”. He said the cacao and maca products were thrown back in the container in California. Now he was wondering how the company would survive. “Right now, we’re just trying to stay afloat.” US Customs and Border Protection has been approached for comment. The Storkeys’ friend Pamela Chipana, a Peruvian living in New Zealand, has set up a Givealittle page.
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