16 March 2011
Biosecurity Australia Advice 2011/02 - Importation of fresh taro corms from all countries
This Biosecurity Australia Advice advises stakeholders of the release of the Draft review of import conditions for fresh taro corms. Comments on the draft report are invited by 20 May 2011.
Quarantine requirements for the importation of fresh corms of taro varieties under the genus Colocasia from all countries have been in place for many years, requiring taro corms to be topped and free of all leaf material.
In 2006, Australia implemented emergency measures that prohibited the importation of small corm taro (Colocasia esculenta var. antiquorum) in response to concerns that they could be used as planting material.
Biosecurity Australia initiated a pest risk analysis (PRA) to assess the quarantine risk associated with imported taro corms. This meets Australia’s obligation under the International Plant Protection Convention and the International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM No. 13) to review the emergency phytosanitary measures. The draft report has now been completed and is being issued for stakeholder comments.
Five quarantine pests have been identified as requiring additional quarantine measures to manage the risks to achieve Australia’s appropriate level of protection (ALOP). These include taro planthopper (Tarophagus proserpina), taro leaf blight (Phytophthora colocasiae), Colocasia bobone disease virus (CBDV), Taro vein chlorosis virus (TaVCV) and Tomato zonate spot virus (TZSV).
The proposed quarantine measures include:
- inspection of taro corms on arrival to ensure that consignments are free of quarantine pests and other regulated articles
- removal of all petiole material and growing points of the corm from large corm taro (Colocasia esculenta var. esculenta) imported from countries where taro planthopper, Colocasia bobone disease virus, Taro vein chlorosis virus or Tomato zonate spot virus are present
- only importing taro corms sourced from areas declared free of taro leaf blight
- prohibiting imports of small corm taro from countries where taro leaf blight, Colocasia bobone disease virus, Taro vein chlorosis virus or Tomato zonate spot virus are present.
Comments on the draft report must be submitted by 20 May 2011 to:
Plant Biosecurity
Biosecurity Australia
GPO Box 858
CANBERRA ACT 2601
Telephone: +61 2 6272 5094
Facsimile: +61 2 6272 3307
E-mail: Plant Biosecurity
The draft report is available on www.biosecurityaustralia.gov.au. Printed copies are available, if required.
Biosecurity Australia will consider stakeholders’ comments in finalising the pest risk analysis and then advise the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service on a recommended quarantine policy.
Confidentiality
Stakeholders are advised that, subject to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 and the Privacy Act 1988, all submissions received in response to Biosecurity Australia Advices will be publicly available and may be listed or referred to in any papers or reports prepared on the subject matter.
The Commonwealth of Australia reserves the right to reveal the identity of a respondent unless a request for anonymity accompanies the submission. Where a request for anonymity does not accompany the submission the respondent will be taken to have consented to the disclosure of their identity for the purposes of Information Privacy Principle 11 of the Privacy Act.