20 February 2023
This Biosecurity Advice notifies stakeholders of the release of the Oriental melon and rockmelon fruit from Korea: biosecurity import requirements final report.
The final report recommends that the importation of greenhouse-grown fresh oriental melon and rockmelon fruit to Australia from all commercial production areas of Korea be permitted, subject to a range of biosecurity requirements.
The final report takes into consideration comments received from stakeholders on the draft report released on 6 June 2022.
We announced the commencement of the risk analysis on 29 May 2019 (Biosecurity Advice 2019-P07) and released the draft report for public consultation on 6 June 2022 (Biosecurity Advice 2022-P04). Comments from stakeholders on the draft report were taken into consideration in preparing the final report.
This risk analysis was conducted in response to formal market access requests for greenhouse-grown fresh oriental melon and rockmelon fruit for human consumption to Australia from Korea.
The final report identifies 5 quarantine pests associated with greenhouse-grown fresh oriental melon and rockmelon fruit from Korea that require risk management measures to reduce the biosecurity risk to an acceptable level. These pests are:
- fruit fly: pumpkin fruit fly (Zeugodacus depressus)
- mites: Kanzawa spider mite (Tetranychus kanzawai)
- thrips: Eurasian flower thrips (Frankliniella intonsa), western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and melon thrips (Thrips palmi).
All 3 thrips species were also assessed as regulated articles for all of Australia, as they are capable of harbouring and spreading emerging orthotospoviruses that are quarantine pests for Australia.
The recommended risk management measures take account of regional differences in pest distribution within Australia. Western flower thrips has been identified as a regional quarantine pest for the Northern Territory, melon thrips has been identified as a regional quarantine pest for South Australia and Western Australia, and Kanzawa spider mite has been identified as a regional quarantine pest for Western Australia.
The final report recommends risk management measures, combined with an operational system, to ensure biosecurity standards are met.
The recommended risk management measures will reduce the risks posed by the 5 identified quarantine pests, to achieve the appropriate level of protection for Australia. These measures are:
- For Zeugodacus depressus (pumpkin fruit fly):
- pest free areas, pest free places of production or pest free production sites, or
- fruit treatment considered to be effective against pumpkin fruit fly.
- For thrips species and Tetranychus kanzawai (Kanzawa spider mite):
- pre-export visual inspection and, if found, remedial action.
The final report and more information about this risk analysis are available on our website.
We invite stakeholders interested in receiving information and updates on biosecurity risk analyses to subscribe via our online subscription service. By subscribing to Biosecurity Risk Analysis Plant, you will receive Biosecurity Advices and other notifications relating to plant biosecurity policy, including this risk analysis.
Monica Collins
First Assistant Secretary
Biosecurity Plant and Science Services Division
Telephone: 1800 900 090 (option 1, option 1)
Email: imports@aff.gov.au