Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to search
Home

Top navigation main

  • News & media
  • Jobs
  • Ministers
  • Contact us
Main menu

AWE Main

  • Agriculture and land
    Agriculture and land Building stronger and more sustainable agriculture, fisheries, forestry and land care.
    • Animal health
    • Climate change and agriculture
    • Drought, disaster and rural support
    • Farming, food and drought
    • Fisheries
    • Forestry
    • Levies and charges on agricultural products
    • Mouse infestation advice
    • Plant health
    Xylella

    Protect against unwanted plant pests

    Our biosecurity system helps protects us. Everyone has a role in supporting our biosecurity system.

    Find out more

  • Biosecurity and trade
    Biosecurity and trade
    • Aircraft, vessels and military
    • Biosecurity policy
    • Cats and dogs
    • Exporting
    • Importing
    • Pests, diseases and weeds
    • Public awareness and education
    • Trade and market access
    • Travelling or sending goods to Australia
    • Report a concern
    Brown marmorated stink bug

    BMSB Seasonal Measures

    Australia has strengthened seasonal measures to manage the risk of BMSB.

    View our seasonal measures

  • Science and research
    Science and research Undertaking research and collecting data to support informed decisions and policies.
    • Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES)
    • Plant Innovation Centre
    Abares

    ABARES Insights

    Get 'snapshots’ of agricultural, forestry and fisheries industries, or analysis of key issues.

    Find out more

  • About us
    About us We enhance our agricultural industries and trade, and manage the threat of biosecurity risks to Australia.
    • Accountability and reporting
    • Assistance, grants and tenders
    • Contact us
    • Fees and charges
    • News and media
    • Our commitment to you
    • Payments
    • People and jobs
    • Publications
    • What we do
    • Who we are
    Budget 2025-26

    Budget 2025-26

    The 2025–26 Portfolio Budget Statements were released on 25 March 2025.

    Find out more

  • Online services
    Online services We do business with you using online platforms. This makes it easier for you to meet your legal requirements.
Department of Agriculture

Breadcrumb

  1. Home
  2. Biosecurity and trade
  3. Biosecurity
  4. Import risk analyses
  5. Plant risk analyses
  6. Strawberries from Japan

Sidebar first - Biosecurity

  • Plant risk analyses
    • Plant commodity/country and pest risk analyses
    • How we conduct a plant risk analysis

Strawberries from Japan

Import conditions for fresh strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) from Japan have been published on our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON). Import permits will now be issued.

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

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 import requirements
  • develop import conditions
  • publish import conditions in our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).

About the risk analysis

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

This risk analysis was conducted in accordance with the Biosecurity Act 2015. We conducted an assessment of the potential quarantine pests associated with strawberries from Japan and found that:

  • the pests of concern were the same, or of the same pest groups, as those pests that had been assessed previously for other horticultural goods
  • there are appropriate risk management measures already established for these pests or pest groups.

Final Report

Summary of the final report

We recommend that the importation of fresh strawberries from Japan be permitted provided they meet the biosecurity import conditions. All imports must come from commercial production areas of Japan.

Pests

Twelve quarantine pests associated with fresh strawberry fruit are present in Japan, and need risk management measures to reduce the risk to an acceptable level. These pests are:

  • Drosophila species: drosophilid flies (Drosophila pulchrella and Drosophila subpulchrella), and spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii)
  • Spider mites: hawthorn spider mite (Amphitetranychus viennensis), spider mites (Eotetranychus smithi, Eotetranychus asiaticus and Eotetranychus geniculatus), and Kanzawa spider mite (Tetranychus kanzawai)
  • Thrips: tobacco thrips (Frankliniella fusca), Eurasian flower thrips (Frankliniella intonsa), and western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis)
  • Bacterium: angular leaf spot (Xanthomonas fragariae).

Western flower thrips has been identified as a regional quarantine pest for the Northern Territory, and another arthropod pest, Kanzawa spider mite has been identified as a regional quarantine pest for Western Australia because interstate quarantine regulations and enforcement are in place for these species. Western flower thrips was also assessed as a regulated article for all of Australia, as it is capable of harbouring and spreading emerging orthotospoviruses that are quarantine pests for Australia.

Risk management measures

We recommend a range of measures to reduce the risk of these pests, so as to achieve the appropriate level of protection for Australia. These measures are: 

  • area freedom (including pest free places of production or pest free production sites, which may require evidence of a seasonal absence) or fruit treatment (such as methyl bromide fumigation or irradiation) for Drosophila species
  • pre-export visual inspection and, if found, remedial action for spider mites and/or thrips
  • area freedom or a systems approach approved by the department for angular leaf spot.

Download final report

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, February 2020.

Document Pages File size
Final report of the review of biosecurity import requirements for fresh strawberry fruit from Japan PDF PDF Icon 222 5.6  MB
Final report of the review of biosecurity import requirements for fresh strawberry fruit from Japan DOCX Word Icon 222 4.7 MB

If you have difficulty accessing these files, visit web accessibility for help.

Trade

Australia-Japan trade

Japan is Australia’s second largest export market for agricultural products (including fisheries and forestry) with around $6 billion worth of trade in 2018–19. Japan was Australia’s largest export destination for beef in 2018–19, valued at $2.3 billion. Other key exports from Australia to Japan include wheat and barley, wine and horticulture (oranges, mandarins and table grapes). Agricultural imports from Japan were worth around $220 million in 2018–19.

Strawberry industry in Japan

In Japan, most fresh strawberries are produced in greenhouses. Fruit is harvested from November to May, which aligns with production in southern states of Australia. In 2016, Japan exported 550 tonnes of strawberries, mainly to Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand.

Strawberry industry in Australia

Strawberries are grown in all Australian states by around 500 commercial growers. Production is concentrated in the Sunshine Coast area of Queensland; the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsula in Victoria; the Camden region of New South Wales; south-western Western Australia; the Adelaide Hills in South Australia; and Tasmania. As a result of these different growing regions, fruit are available throughout the year. Peak production occurs between June and October in Queensland and Western Australia, and October and May in southern areas of Australia.

In 2017–18, Australia produced more than 93,500 tonnes of strawberries valued at AU$445 million. Of this around 4,300 tonnes, worth $29.7 million, was exported. Australia currently permits imports of fresh strawberries from USA (California), New Zealand and most recently from the Republic of Korea. However, there have been very limited imports of strawberries in recent years.

Keep informed

Register as a stakeholder

Subscribe to the plant stakeholder register to receive notices about plant biosecurity policies.

Contact us

For more information, email Imports or phone 1800 900 090 (option 1, option 1).

General enquiries

Call 1800 900 090

Contact us online

Report a biosecurity concern

Thanks for your feedback.
Thanks! Your feedback has been submitted.

We aren't able to respond to your individual comments or questions.
To contact us directly phone us or submit an online inquiry

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.

Please verify that you are not a robot.

Skip
Page last updated: 07 June 2021

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

Footer

  • Contact us
  • Accessibility
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy
  • FOI

© Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Facebook X LinkedIn Instagram