1 August 2023
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise the mainland apple and pear industry that applications are now open for the accreditation of farms, packhouses and registration of treatment facilities to export apples and pears to Thailand for the 2024 season.
Summary of changes and key points
- Farm and packhouse managers must complete their application forms using the Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL) export registration system by 5pm AEST Tuesday 3 October 2023. Late submissions will not be accepted.
Note: All information in the application including ABN, contact details, accredited property maps and addresses must be complete and correct or the application may not be accepted. - Orchards or packhouses accredited for export to Thailand in 2023 will receive an SMS notification from APAL advising that the application process for accreditation has commenced.
- Orchards or packhouses not accredited in 2023 and wanting to export to Thailand in 2024 must contact APAL to access the export registration system.
- Treatment facilities which are not already a registered establishment approved for onshore cold treatment of apples and pears to Thailand who wish to apply for approval should contact the Horticulture Exports Program immediately. An on-site audit is required by Thailand before onshore cold treatments can commence.
- Crop monitors must complete the training and assessment for the online core Crop Monitoring Module, and the apple and pear courses through Learnhub by Tuesday 3 October 2023 to be eligible to conduct crop monitoring.
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce.
The protocol for exporting mainland apples and pears to Thailand mandates that farms, packhouses and treatment facilities are accredited or registered with the department prior to the export season.
For specific market requirements, refer to the relevant protocol and workplan in the ‘Documents’ section of the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor). To access these documents, you must register as a Micor Plants user.
Accredited property responsibilities – farms and packhouses
- Farms and packhouses must apply for accreditation annually.
- Growers may divide their farm 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. A block must be a contiguous unit and not be separated by structures such as a building, public road or body of water.
Note: For further information, refer to the Guideline: Management of horticulture export accredited properties. - Farms and packhouses must be available for audits by the department, to ensure compliance with the protocol and our requirements.
- Audits will occur either pre-season and/or in-season (during harvest). Any farm or packhouse that was not accredited during the 2023 season will be audited pre-season.
- Accreditation and/or continuation of accreditation will be reliant on audit outcomes.
Note: The department may use a combination of announced and unannounced audits as part of our assurance process. - Applicants will be advised of the audit outcome, and accreditation number/s will be provided to farms and packhouses.
- Farms and packhouses intending to take advantage of Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) recognition are requested to upload relevant documentation into the online application system in advance of audit to save time on-site.
- We will only accredit an entity for export if all protocol requirements are met.
- Requirements for accredited properties, including management guidelines, audit guidelines and performance standards can be found on the Plant Export Operations Manual.
- Packhouses exporting fruit to Thailand must comply with Thailand’s hygiene and quality requirements for packhouses and provide evidence of compliance at time of audit. See the Thailand Food and Drug Administration requirements for packhouses in the Documents section of Micor for further information.
Crop monitor responsibilities
- Online crop monitor training for apples and pears must be completed annually through Learnhub. The training consists of a core module and an apple and pear module.
- To register for the modules, email Horticulture Exports Training with your
- first and last name
- preferred email address, and
- commodity you wish to conduct training for.
- Crop monitors must complete the assessment of both courses Tuesday 3 October 2023.
- Fortnightly crop monitoring of all blocks intending to export is required from budburst until harvest.
- Only crop monitors who have completed the online training and passed the assessment are eligible to conduct crop monitoring for protocol markets.
- Crop monitors will be audited for compliance at the relevant accredited property audit.
Treatment facility responsibilities
- Treatment facilities must be registered establishments and approved for the specific country, commodity and treatment combination for protocol markets.
- Onshore cold treatment facilities must be jointly approved by Thailand and the department to treat fruit for export to Thailand. If your treatment facility is not approved for export to Thailand, please contact Horticulture Exports Program immediately.
- Treatment facilities that are currently approved for onshore cold treatment to Thailand under their registered establishment do not need to re-apply.
Note: A renewal process occurs annually for Thailand onshore cold treatment facilities. The department will contact registered facilities each year to facilitate renewal.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN, please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
Rossana Carr
Acting Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch