Why has this announcement on fresh lychee fruit from Taiwan and Vietnam been made?
Both Taiwan and Vietnam requested market access for fresh lychee fruit in 2003. Lychees are Taiwan’s and Vietnam’s top priority horticultural market access requests to Australia. The department is now in a position to formally start this assessment.
Why consider the requests from Taiwan and Vietnam together in a single analysis?
Given the similarity of pests, dealing with requests from both Taiwan and Vietnam in a single analysis will be the most efficient use of available resources and will address the two top priorities at the same time.
Longan and lychee access requests from China and Thailand were also considered together in a single analysis.
How will DAFF Biosecurity undertake this analysis?
DAFF Biosecurity will undertake this assessment as a non-regulated analysis of existing policy which is a process that identifies and assesses risks posed by the pests and diseases relevant to existing policy. If those risks exceed Australia’s appropriate level of protection, the analysis specifies what measures should be taken to reduce those risks to an acceptable level. The analysis will be conducted to the same scientific standard as an Import Risk Analysis, as described in the Import Risk Analysis Handbook 2011.
It will involve the release of a draft report for a stakeholder comment period and then considering and incorporating relevant scientific and technical comments into a final report with recommendations.
Why isn’t an Import Risk Analysis (IRA) being conducted?
Import policy already exists for fresh lychee fruit from China and Thailand. Australia already allows the imports of fresh lychee fruit from China and Thailand subject to specific quarantine conditions.
A preliminary assessment of the pests and diseases of fresh lychee fruit from Taiwan and Vietnam has not identified any new pest or disease types that were not assessed during the import risk analysis for longan and lychees from China and Thailand.
The importation of lychees from Taiwan and Vietnam should not pose significantly different quarantine risks, or require significantly different management measures, than those that apply to lychees from China and Thailand.
In view of this, DAFF Biosecurity has determined that the market access requests for lychees from Taiwan and Vietnam will be conducted as a non-regulated analysis of existing policy.
What are the quarantine measures for lychees from China and Thailand?
Fresh lychee fruit from China and Thailand can be imported into Australia, subject to a combination of quarantine measures including:
- cold disinfestation treatment or vapour heat treatment for the management of fruit flies
- cold disinfestation treatment or orchard control, inspection and remedial action for the management of litchi fruit borers
- inspection and remedial action for the management of mealybugs and soft scales
- supporting operational maintenance systems and verification of phytosanitary status.
Full details of the import conditions can be found on the BICON system.
Consultation
Will stakeholders be consulted during the process?
DAFF consulted with the key stakeholder (the lychee industry) prior to this announcement and will continue to consult with all stakeholders throughout the non-regulated process.
DAFF Biosecurity will develop a draft risk analysis report that will be circulated to stakeholders for comment during a formal consultation period.
Anyone interested in this process should register as a stakeholder. This can be done electronically.
Background information
Will the potential importation have an impact on the domestic lychee industry?
The impact on the domestic lychee industry (if any) will be minimal. Potential export of fresh lychee fruit from Taiwan and Vietnam would be between May and July compared to domestic production available from October to March.
Does Australia export fresh lychee fruit to other countries?
Yes, Australia has been exporting fresh lychee fruit to many countries or regions, including Hong Kong, Singapore, French Polynesia, Fiji, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Lebanon, France, United Kingdom, Russia, Canada and New Zealand. The total export for 2010/2011 was 134 tonnes, about 4% of the annual production.