Statement on the release of the draft import risk assessment for decrowned pineapples from India and Indonesia
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG) acknowledges today's release of the Australian Government's draft import risk assessment for fresh decrowned pineapples from India and Indonesia.
The release of the draft report marks the beginning of a 60-day public consultation period. QFVG will undertake a comprehensive technical review of the assessment on behalf of the Australian pineapple industry before preparing a formal submission to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).
As the national representative body for Australian pineapple growers, we will examine every aspect of the draft report, with particular attention given to the quarantine pests identified in the assessment and the proposed measures to manage those risks.
The draft report identifies hard scale insects, mealybugs, and cotton thrips as quarantine pests requiring risk management before imports can be permitted. QFVG will carefully assess whether the proposed measures achieve Australia's Appropriate Level of Protection (ALOP) and provide Australian growers with the level of biosecurity protection they expect.
Biosecurity isn't something you get a second chance at. Once an exotic pest is here, growers are left to deal with the consequences.
Australian growers should not be expected to carry the consequences if this assessment gets it wrong. Every assumption, every proposed mitigation measure, and every conclusion in this report will be rigorously tested.
The draft report proposes treatments including methyl bromide fumigation, irradiation or heat treatment to manage the identified pest risks. QFVG will be working with technical experts to determine whether those measures provide the level of protection required to safeguard Australia's pineapple industry.
Growers have already lost access to important crop protection tools through regulatory decisions. That makes keeping new pests out of Australia more important than ever.
QFVG will work closely with pineapple growers, technical experts, and biosecurity specialists throughout the consultation period to ensure Australia's biosecurity protections remain robust and that the Australian pineapple industry's views are clearly represented in our submission to the Australian Government.
Scott Kompo-Harms
Chief Executive Officer
Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers (QFVG)
