Dragon fruit from the Philippines

We have completed the risk analysis for dragon fruit from the Philippines. We will now verify that the Philippines can meet the import conditions.

Risk analysis

When we do a risk analysis we:

• review the science on pests and diseases of concern
• assess and analyse biosecurity risks
• develop proposed risk management measures, if required
• consult the public on the draft report and then review comments
• publish the final report
• verify that the country can meet the recommended risk management measures
• develop import conditions
• publish import conditions in our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

About the risk analysis

We initiated this risk analysis because the Philippines requested market access for fresh dragon fruit. Learn more about why we carry out risk analyses and our international obligations.

We conducted this risk analysis as a review of biosecurity import requirements. This is because we conducted an assessment of the potential pests associated with dragon fruit from the Philippines and found that:

• the pests of concern are the same, or of the same pest groups, as those pests that have been assessed previously for dragon fruit and/or other horticultural goods
• there are appropriate risk management measures established for these pests or pest groups.

Final report

Summary of the final report

We released the final report on 15 August 2023. We determined that the importation of dragon fruit from the Philippines can be permitted, subject to certain biosecurity import conditions.

Pests

The final report identifies 8 pests associated with fresh dragon fruit from the Philippines that require risk management measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. These pests are:

• fruit flies - Oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis) and melon fly (Zeugodacus cucurbitae)
• mealybugs - grey pineapple mealybug (Dysmicoccus neobrevipes), papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus) and Jack Beardsley mealybug (Pseudococcus jackbeardsleyi)
• thrips - western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis), melon thrips (Thrips palmi) and chilli thrips (Scirtothrips dorsalis).

Risk management measures

We determined a range of measures to reduce the risk of these pests arriving in Australia via the fresh dragon fruit pathway. These measures are:

• for fruit flies
  • pest free areas, pest free places of production or pest free production sites, or
  • fruit treatment considered to be effective against fruit flies such as irradiation or vapour heat treatment
• for mealybugs and thrips
  • pre-export visual inspection and, if found, remedial action.

Your feedback on the draft report

We received submissions on the draft report from 5 stakeholders and where permission has been given they have been published below. We have made changes to the risk analysis following consideration of stakeholder comments and a subsequent review of literature. These changes include:

• removal of the fungus Fusarium fujikuroi from ‘Appendix B: Initiation and categorisation for pests of dragon fruit from the Philippines’, due to a lack of evidence associating this fungus with dragon fruit in the Philippines
• addition of ‘Appendix C: Stakeholder comments’, which summarises the key technical issues raised by stakeholders, and how these issues have been considered by the department in this final report
• minor corrections, rewording and editorial changes for consistency, accuracy, clarity and web-accessibility.

Trade

Australia-Philippines trade

The Philippines is a comprehensive trading partner with a longstanding agricultural trade relationship, supported by the ASEAN Australian New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The two-way trade in agriculture, fisheries and forestry was valued at approximately AUD $1.7 billion in 2020-21.

Dragon fruit industry in the Philippines

The Philippines’ dragon fruit industry is a small but growing industry, increasing production from 256 to 2,090 tonnes between 2012 and 2021.

The production period for dragon fruit is between May and October, although it can extend into December with the use of artificial lighting. Growers, government and universities have partnered to improve production quality and yield.

The Philippines exports small volumes of dragon fruit to several international markets.

Dragon fruit industry in Australia

In 2017 Australian dragon fruit production was estimated to be approximately 740 tonnes per annum. Most of Australia’s dragon fruit is grown in the Northern Territory and Far North Queensland.

Australian dragon fruit are marketed between October and April. The Australian dragon fruit industry is focussed on domestic supply, mainly to major city markets.

Next steps

Before imports can commence, we will:

• verify that the Philippines can meet our specified import conditions
• publish import conditions on the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON)
• issue import permits to importers who meet the import conditions.

The decision to commence imports will be a commercial decision between an exporter in the Philippines and an importer in Australia. The importer must meet the import conditions as set out in BICON.

Keep informed

Register as a stakeholder

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Contact us

For more information, email imports or phone 1800 900 090 (when prompted, select option 1, option 1).