9 December 2019
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise industry that applications are now open for the accreditation of farms and packhouses to export persimmons to Thailand in 2020.
Summary of changes and key points
- Applications are now open for the accreditation of farms and packhouses to export persimmons to Thailand in 2020.
- Only farms located in Queensland are eligible to apply under the protocol agreement.
- Farms and packhouses must complete the appropriate application form below, and submit the completed form to the Audit and Assurance Group by 5pm AEDT, 24 January 2020. Late submissions will not be accepted.
- Crop monitors must complete the generic crop monitor course online through the Tocal College online eLearning hub by 24 January 2020 to be eligible to conduct crop monitoring for persimmons to Thailand.
- Farms and packhouses will be subject to audits by the department.
Download
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
Application for plant export accreditation of farms PDF  | 4 | 253 KB |
| Application for plant export accreditation of packhouses PDF | 4 | 261 KB |
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Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce. The protocol for exporting persimmons to Thailand mandates that farms and packhouses are accredited with the Department of Agriculture prior to the beginning of the export season.
The protocol requires that persimmons must be produced in Australia and sourced from a Thailand approved production area. Currently, only persimmons produced in Queensland are permitted for export to Thailand under the protocol.
For specific market requirements, refer to the relevant protocol on the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR) Plants website. Work plans and protocols can be found in the Documents section. To access these documents, you must be a registered MICoR Plants user.
To register for MICoR, go to the registration webpage, complete all fields and then click ‘Submit’. You will be provided with your login details by email.
Accredited property responsibilities
- Farms and packhouses must apply for accreditation annually (unless otherwise advised).
- Farms may divide their orchard into blocks. Each block must be clearly identified on the application form and on the farm map by its physical address or geographic co-ordinates.
- Note: Further detail on map and block requirements can be found on the application forms.
- All new applicants must be available for pre-accreditation audits by the department, to ensure compliance with the relevant protocol and departmental requirements.
- Packhouses must provide evidence of adherence to one of the following industry food safety accredited schemes that comply with Thailand’s ‘good practices’ requirements for packhouses
- BRC Global Standards for Food Safety
- Freshcare Food Safety and Quality Code of Practice – Edition 4
- SQF Food Safety Code for Primary Production – Edition 8
- GLOBAL G.A.P.
- Requirements for accredited properties, including management guidelines, audit guidelines and performance standards, can be found on the Plant Export Operations Manual.
- The department will notify all applicants of audit dates and provide an audit briefing. Audits will be carried out against the requirement of the protocol and applicants will be advised of the outcome. Export approval number/s will be provided to successful farms and packhouses.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
David Ironside
Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch