08 February 2021
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise the kiwifruit industry that applications for export of kiwifruit to Thailand are now open for the 2021 season.
Summary of key points
- Farms located in Victoria and Queensland are eligible to apply under the protocol agreement.
- Farm and packhouse managers must complete the application form and submit the completed form to the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, Audit and Assurance Group by 5pm AEDT, Friday 26 February 2021. Late submissions will not be accepted.
- All information in the application (for example, ABN numbers, contact details, accredited property maps and addresses) must be complete and correct or the application may not be accepted.
- Crop monitors must complete the generic crop monitor course online through the Tocal College online eLearning hub by Friday 26 March 2021 to be eligible to conduct crop monitoring for kiwifruit to Thailand.
- Farms and packhouses will be subject to audits by the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment prior to confirming accreditation.
Treatment facilities
- Onshore cold treatment facilities must be approved jointly by Thailand and the department to treat kiwifruit for export to Thailand. If your treatment facility is not approved for exports to Thailand by the department, please contact Horticulture Exports Program.
- Applications are now open for the registration of treatment facilities by Thailand for onshore cold treatment of kiwi fruits to Thailand.
- Treatment facilities previously registered for this export pathway do not need to reapply.
- Treatment facility applicants can submit their completed application form to the department’s Audit and Assurance Group by 5pm AEST, Friday 26 February 2021.
Download
| Document | Pages | File size |
|---|---|---|
Application for plant export accreditation of farms PDF  |
4 | 277 KB |
| Application for plant export accreditation of packhouses PDF |
4 | 263 KB |
| Application for registration as a horticulture export treatment facility PDF |
6 | 263 KB |
If you have difficulty accessing these files, please visit web accessibility.
Specific market requirements
Export pathways for kiwifruit to Thailand requires accreditation of all farms, packhouses and cold treatment facilities.
Further details on specific market requirements (including area freedom) are available in the relevant work plans and protocols in the ‘Documents’ section of the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (MICoR). To access these documents, you must be a registered MICoR Plant user.
To register for MICoR, go to the registration webpage, complete all fields and then click ‘Submit’. You will be provided with your login details by email.
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce.
The protocol for exporting kiwifruit to Thailand mandates that farms and packhouses are accredited with the department prior to the export season.
The protocol requires that kiwifruit must be produced in Australia and sourced from a Thailand approved production area. Currently, only kiwifruit produced in Victoria and Queensland are permitted for export to Thailand under the protocol.
Accredited property responsibilities - farms and packhouses
- Farms and packhouses must apply for accreditation annually (unless otherwise advised).
- Farms may divide their orchard into blocks which must be contiguous. Each block must be clearly identified on the application form and on the farm map by its physical address or geographic co-ordinates.
- Applicants must be available for audits by the department, to ensure compliance with the relevant work plans and protocols. Some entities may be audited by the importing country authority.
- The department can 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.
- Existing accredited properties will be subject to an audit pre-or mid-season.
- All new applicants must be available for pre-accreditation audits by the department to ensure compliance with the protocol and departmental requirements.
- Packhouses must provide evidence of adherence to one of the following industry food safety accredited schemes that comply with Thailand’s ‘good practices’ requirements for packhouses
Treatment facility responsibilities
- Treatment facilities must be a registered establishment and approved for the specific country, commodity and treatment combination for protocol markets.
- Note: Treatment facilities previously approved by the department as an accredited property are now approved under their registered establishment (refer to IAN 2019-64 for further information on this). Treatment facilities that are currently approved for treatment functions under their registered establishment do not need to re-apply unless they would like to vary their approval by adding or removing a treatment function (country, commodity, treatment combination).
- Treatment facilities that are currently not approved for the countries, commodities and treatments they would like must submit an application for registration as a horticulture export treatment facility and be audited and approved by the department and the importing country, where required (for onshore cold treatment approval is required from Thailand).
Crop monitor training
- Only crop monitors who have completed the online training and passed the assessment are eligible to conduct crop monitoring for protocol markets.
- The online crop monitor training is now open via the Tocal College online eLearning hub.
- The assessment quiz closes on Friday, 26 March 2021.
- The eLearning course content will remain accessible through to Friday, 30 April 2021.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN please email Horticulture Exports Program.
Rossana Carr
A/g Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch