01 November 2022
Purpose
This Industry Advice Notice (IAN) is to advise the citrus industry that applications are now open for the accreditation of citrus orchards or blocks for the 2023 season.
Summary of key points
- Applications are now open for the accreditation of orchards or blocks to export citrus to South Korea, China, Thailand and New Zealand for the 2023 season. Applications must be completed by 5pm AEDT, Friday 17 December 2022.
- Growers wishing to apply to export citrus to all markets other than New Zealand can complete their application through the Citrus Australia registration system.
- Growers in Queensland wishing to apply to export citrus to New Zealand must submit a completed Reference: Application for plant export accreditation of farms directly to Audit Services.
Note: All information in the application must be complete and correct or the application may not be accepted. - If your orchard or block was accredited by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry for exports to South Korea, China or Thailand in 2022, your details are already in the system, and you will receive an email from Citrus Australia. If you have not already received an email, please contact Citrus Australia.
- All nominated orchards or blocks must be surveyed by a registered crop monitor between 1 and 28 February 2023. Contact Citrus Australia for further information on registered crop monitors.
- Packhouses must ensure the crop monitor report and an orchard map are uploaded into the Citrus Australia online system and sign an electronic declaration that orchards have met quarantine requirements by 5pm AEDT, Friday 3 March 2022. If the farm and/or packhouse manager(s) themselves does not sign, the person signing the application must write “[Full name] - completed on behalf of [grower/packhouse name]”.
Specific market accreditation requirements
Growers exporting to the following markets must apply for accreditation:
- South Korea (all states; oranges and lemons only)
- China (all states)
- Thailand (all states)
- New Zealand (only orchards located in Queensland need to be accredited)
Exports to all other markets do not require accreditation.
Background
Countries with protocol markets have specific requirements for importing Australian produce.
Growers intending to export citrus to certain markets must be accredited with the us prior to export.
For specific market requirements, refer to the relevant workplan and protocol in the Documents section on the Manual of Importing Country Requirements (Micor) Plants website. To access these documents, you must be a registered Micor Plants 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.
Grower responsibilities
- Growers must apply for accreditation annually.
- If your orchard or block was accredited in 2022, your details are already in the system. If you wish to change any details, do not delete your existing details. Please contact Citrus Australia to make amendments to existing details. Deleting properties may result in new accredited property numbers being assigned, which may impact access to protocol markets.
- Growers should upload a current map with their application which shows the whole orchard with blocks accurately outlined, and includes at a minimum
- the orchard’s set boundaries, surrounding areas and major infrastructure (for example, packhouse, dam, dwellings)
- borders of each farm block within the orchard
- all individual blocks, major roads and packhouse, if applicable, labelled and identified on map
- maps must not be hand-drawn, and must contain sufficient information to identify exact physical location of the property. Aerial/satellite maps to-scale are recommended.
- The application, map and February survey uploaded to the CAL system must have consistent information i.e. farm address, number and names of blocks, and block sizes must be the same.
- Refer to the Guideline: Management of horticulture export accredited properties for further information.
- Applicants must be available for audits by us, to ensure compliance with the relevant work plans and protocols. Some entities may also be audited by the importing country authority.
- Our audits may occur pre-season and/or during the season.
- Requirements for accredited properties, including management guidelines, audit guidelines and performance standards can be found on the Plant Export Operations Manual.
- Accreditation is reliant upon audit outcomes.
Note: We will use a combination of announced and unannounced audits as part of its assurance process. - We can only issue accreditation if all protocol requirements are met.
Contact information
If you have any questions regarding applying or accreditation, please email Citrus Australia.
If you have any questions regarding this IAN, please email the Horticulture Exports Program.
Rossana Carr
Acting Assistant Secretary
Plant Export Operations Branch