Office of the Director-General
Reference:08/17372
5 Sep 2008
Ms Louise van Meurs
General Manager
Plant Biosecurity
Biosecurity Australia
GPO Box 858
Canberra ACT 2601
Dear Ms van Meurs
Biosecurity Australia Advice 2008/21 - Issues paper for the import risk analysis report for fresh apple fruit from the People's Republic of China
I refer to the Issues paper for the import risk analysis report for fresh apple fruit from the People's Republic of China and your request for comments by 5 September 2008.
The issues paper provides information relevant to the import request and the import risk analysis and includes a list of pests associated with apple production in China.
The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) has reviewd the issues paper and notes that Biosecurity Australia has identified fire blight, caused by the bacterium Erwinia amylovora, as a significant disease affecting apple fruit, particularly as Australia is free of fire blight. This is a major concern for the Queensland pome fruit industry and, although the DPI&F has no further comment at this stage, it is committed to active involvement in this extended IRA process.
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the issue paper.
If you require any further information regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to contact Dr Fiona Giblin on telephone 07 3239 3472 or email fiona.giblin@dpi.qld.gov.au.
Yours sincerely
[Signed]
Robert Setter
Director-General (Acting)
Disclaimer: The department received this submission in hardcopy only, which has been converted into an accessible format to meet Australian Government accessibility requirements. While due care was taken to ensure the information was reproduced accurately, the PDF should be considered the original document for official purposes.