02 September 2022
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise the kiwifruit industry that applications for the export of kiwifruit to Thailand are now open for the 2023 season.
Summary of changes and key points
- Farms located in Victoria and Queensland are eligible to apply for accreditation under the protocol agreement.
- Farm and packhouse managers must complete the relevant application form/s below and submit to Audit Services by 5pm AEDT 3 October 2022. Late submissions will not be accepted. Note: All information in the application including ABN, contact details, maps and property addresses must be complete and correct or the application may not be accepted.
- Farms and packhouses will be subject to audits by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
- Crop monitors must complete the generic crop monitor course online through the Tocal College online eLearning hub by Monday 17 October 2022 to be eligible to conduct crop monitoring for kiwifruit to Thailand.
- Treatment facilities that are not already a registered establishment approved for onshore cold treatment and wanting to apply for approval should contact the Horticulture Exports Program. An on-site audit is required by Thailand before onshore cold treatments can commence.
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce.
The protocol for exporting kiwifruit to Thailand mandates that farms, packhouses and treatment facilities are accredited or registered with us, prior to export.
For specific market requirements, refer to the protocol in the ‘Documents’ section on the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) Plants website. To access this document, 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.
Accredited property responsibilities – farms and packhouses
- Farms and packhouses must apply for accreditation annually (unless otherwise advised).
- Farms may divide their orchard into blocks. Each block must be clearly identified on the application form and on the farm map by its physical address or geographic co-ordinates. A block must be a contiguous unit and not be separated by structures such as a building, public road or body of water.
Note: For further information, refer to the Guideline: Management of horticulture export accredited properties. - Farms and packhouses must be available for audits by the department, to ensure compliance with the protocol and departmental requirements. Some entities may be audited by the importing country authority.
- Audits will occur either pre-season and/or in-season (during harvest). Any farm or packhouse that was not accredited for the 2022 season will be audited pre-season.
- Accreditation and/or continuation of accreditation is reliant upon audit outcomes.
Note: The department will use a combination of announced and unannounced audits as part of its assurance process. - We can only issue accreditation 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.
- Packhouses exporting fruit to Thailand must comply with Thailand’s ‘good practices’ requirements for packhouses. See the Thailand Food and Drug Administration requirements for packhouses in the documents section of Micor for further information.
Crop monitor responsibilities
Only crop monitors who have completed the online training and passed the assessment are eligible to conduct crop monitoring for protocol markets.
- Online crop monitor training for kiwifruit must be completed annually through the generic crop monitoring course.
- The generic crop monitoring course is now open via the Tocal College online eLearning hub.
- Crop monitors must complete the assessment by 17 October 2022.
- Crop monitors must be audited for compliance at the relevant accredited property audit.
Treatment facility responsibilities
- Treatment facilities must be a registered establishment and approved for the specific country, commodity and treatment combination for protocol markets.
- Treatment facilities that are currently approved for onshore cold treatment to Thailand under their registered establishment do not need to re-apply.
- Treatment facilities that are currently not approved for onshore cold treatment to Thailand should contact the Horticulture Exports Program.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding this IAN, please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
Rossana Carr
Acting Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch