6 March 2009
Biosecurity Australia Advice 2009/04
This Biosecurity Australia Advice informs stakeholders that Biosecurity Australia has undertaken an assessment for recognition of northern China’s fruit fly pest free area status under the non-regulated process. The assessment recommends recognition of Hebei, Shandong and Xinjiang as pest free areas for fruit flies for all commodities.
Recognition of these areas will mean that the current requirement for mandatory fruit fly monitoring in the orchards that export Chinese pears to Australia will be replaced by China’s national fruit fly monitoring systems. The report of the assessment is available on Biosecurity Australia’s website. Other quarantine conditions remain in place.
This report is being issued for 30 days consultation. Comments and submissions are invited by 4 April 2009.
In July 2007, the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) formally requested Australia’s recognition of northern China’s pear and apple producing regions as pest free areas (PFAs) for fruit flies. AQSIQ also requested that Biosecurity Australia review the current requirements for orchard monitoring of fruit flies in the export pear production areas in the provinces of Hebei and Shandong and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Xinjiang).
Biosecurity Australia has reviewed China’s fruit fly pest free areas based on:
• scientific evidence (trapping and climatic data, modelling information)
• China’s domestic road and rail travel arrangements
• consultation with technical experts and stakeholders
• verification visits to China’s National Fruit Fly Trapping Network in Hebei, Shandong and Xinjiang by Biosecurity Australia’s technical experts in September and December 2007
• no detections of fruit flies in these PFAs since trapping began (1984 for Xinjiang, late-1990s for Hebei and 2000 for Shandong).
The evidence has provided a high level of confidence that Hebei, Shandong and Xinjiang are free of native and exotic fruit flies. Biosecurity Australia recommends that these regions are recognised as pest free areas for economically significant fruit flies and that the current requirement for monitoring fruit flies in the export pear orchards can be removed. China’s National Fruit Fly Trapping Network will be responsible for monitoring fruit flies.
Importations will be closely monitored for 12 months through identification of all live arthropods detected by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) during pre clearance inspections.
Standard AQIS procedures, pre-clearance inspections and other measures will continue to manage the quarantine risks posed by pears from China. Only consignments inspected by AQIS in China and found free of live quarantineable pests will be cleared for export.
Consultation
Biosecurity Australia would welcome your comments on the report by 4 April 2009. We will take into account stakeholder comments as we finalise the review.
The report and further information on the regulated and non regulated IRA process can be found on Biosecurity Australia’s website, www.biosecurityaustralia.gov.au. Please pass this notice to other interested parties. If those parties wish to be included in future communications on this matter they should get in touch with the contact officer (details below).
Dr Colin J Grant
Chief Executive
Contact officer: Rob Schwartz
Telephone no: +61 2 6272 3933
Facsimile no: +61 2 6272 3307
E-mail: Plant Biosecurity