31 October 2018
Purpose
The purpose of this Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise mainland Australian apple and pear growers and packhouses, that applications are now open for the accreditation of orchards/blocks and packhouses for exports to Thailand for the 2019 season.
Summary of changes and key points
- Applications must be submitted by 5 December 2018 using the online application system. Late applications will not be accepted.
- If your orchard or packhouse was accredited by the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources for exports to Thailand in 2018, your details are already in the system and you will receive SMS from Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) advising that application for accreditation has commenced.
- If your orchard or packhouse was not accredited in 2018 and you wish to export to Thailand in 2019, please contact APAL via Angus Crawford, acrawford@apal.org.au or phone (03) 9329 3511 to access the online application system.
- Packhouses must provide a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) as part of their application which includes processes relating to:
- grading, handling and packing of fruit
- hygiene programs
- dealing with pests of quarantine concern including treatment records
- a documented system to allow traceability of fruit back to the accredited orchard/block
- staff training.
- Packhouses that are accredited with the department last year do not need to provide SOP.
- Following accreditation, the department may conduct audits of apple and pear growers and packhouses / storage facilities to ensure they meet all protocol requirements.
Industry responsibilities
- For detailed information on export requirements, please refer to the document: Workplan Australian apple and pear exports to Thailand on the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR).
- To access these documents, you must be a registered MICoR Plant user (please allow up to 5 days for your MICoR registration to be processed).
- The following instructional material for accredited properties is available on the Plant Export Operations Manual:
- Guideline: Management of horticulture export accredited properties
- Guideline: Audit of horticulture export accredited properties
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce. The protocols for apples and pears to Thailand mandate that the growers and packhouses need to be registered with the department prior to the commencement of the season.
In September 2018, the department amended to the Export Control (Plants and Plant Products) Order 2011 to include the accreditation of properties for the export of specific horticulture products to certain protocol markets.
This amendment forms part of wider departmental initiatives to strengthen agricultural exports and market access, through improving the current agricultural export legislative framework. This includes the development of the Export Control Bill 2017 and commodity‑specific subordinate legislation in the form of Export Control Rules.
The
Export Control Bill 2017 was introduced into the Australian Parliament on 7 December 2017, and includes provisions for accredited properties.
For further information please see
IAN 2018-23 and
IAN 2018-44.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
If you have any questions regarding the online application system please email APAL.
Mr David Ironside
Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch