30 September 2022
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise the citrus industry that applications are now open for the accreditation of packhouses to export to protocol markets for the 2023 season.
Summary of key points
- Applications are now open for the accreditation of packhouses to export citrus to South Korea, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, USA and New Zealand for the 2023 season.
- Packhouses can complete their application through the Citrus Australia registration system. Applications must be completed by 5pm AEDT, Monday 31 October 2022. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Note: All information in the application must be complete and correct or the application may not be accepted.
- If your packhouse was accredited by the department for exports to the above protocol markets in 2022, your details are already in the system, and you will receive an email from Citrus Australia. If you have not already received an email, please contact Citrus Australia.
Specific market accreditation requirements
Packhouses exporting to the following markets must apply for accreditation:
- South Korea (all states)
- China (all states)
- Thailand (all states)
- Taiwan (only packhouses located in fruit fly pest free areas i.e. Riverland, South Australia need to be accredited)
- Japan
- USA (access to this market is limited to specific production areas. Please refer to the Micor case for further information )
- New Zealand (only packhouses sourcing fruit from farms located in Queensland need to be accredited)
Exports to all other markets do not require accreditation.
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce.
Packhouses intending to export citrus to certain markets must be accredited with the department prior to export.
For specific market requirements, refer to the relevant workplan and protocol in the Documents section on the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) Plants website. 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.
Packhouse responsibilities
- Packhouses must apply for accreditation annually.
- If your packhouse was accredited in 2022, your details are already in the Citrus Australia online system. If you wish to change any details, do not delete your existing details. Please contact Citrus Australia to make amendments to existing details. Deleting properties may result in new accredited property numbers being assigned, which may impact access to protocol markets.
- Applicants must be available for audits by the department, to ensure compliance with the relevant work plans and protocols. Some entities may also be audited by the importing country authority.
- Audits will occur pre-season and/or during the season. Any packhouse that was not accredited for the 2022 season will be audited pre-season.
- Accreditation is reliant upon audit outcomes.
Note: We will use a combination of announced and unannounced audits as part of the assurance process. - We can only issue accreditation if all protocol requirements are met.
- Packhouse managers must be aware of all growers that have nominated to pack at their packhouse at time of audit.
- Requirements for accredited properties, including management guidelines, audit guidelines and performance standards can be found on the Plant Export Operations Manual.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding applying for accreditation, please email Citrus Australia.
If you have any questions regarding this IAN, please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
Rossana Carr
Acting Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch