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Thousands of jobs are at risk in New Zealand's car sales industry because of a particularly problematic insect, it's reported.

According to the discovery of hundreds of brown marmorated stink bugs aboard cargo ships bringing some 12,000 cars from Japan to New Zealand mean that the car carriers are being turned away to be fumigated.

there's no facility in New Zealand which can deal with the pest, so at least three of the ships are "floating aimlessly in the Pacific".

The stink bug, which is native to areas of East Asia but can also be found in Europe and the Americas, is a problem for fruit farmers around the world. The beetle voraciously sucks the liquid out of fruits and its toxins cause the plants to die. They have the potential to cause major damage to New Zealand's entire fruit and vegetable industry, .

Speaking to Radio NZ, Vehicle Importers Association chief David Vinsen said that car importers are now unwilling to load a backlog of cars for export to the country if there's a chance that they'll be turned back.

That means that jobs in the retail sector could be at risk within weeks, .

The agricultural sector is a crucial part of New Zealand's economy, and strict biosecurity laws implemented by the Ministry of Primary Industries exist to prevent any kind of pest from entering the country.

New Zealand's primary industries (agriculture, forestry and seafood) were worth NZ$38.1bn (US$28bn; £20bn) in the , and pests introduced by man are one of its major threats.

There's an added complication that the fumigant often used against the stink bug - methyl bromide - damages car upholstery to the point that they are unsalable.

An alternative, sulfuryl fluoride, is not approved in New Zealand, but the Ministry is now considering its use, reports.

Reporting by Alistair Coleman

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