Mike Chapman NZKGI Chief Executive

In recent weeks there have been three significant biosecurity risks. Kiwifruit plants grown from illegally imported seeds found and destroyed in an Auckland suburb.

Tomatoes and capsicums from Queensland now being imported into New Zealand with special labelling requirements saying that the produce has been irradiated. And, a change in the fruit fly protection systems in Australia.
First, the illegally imported seeds from which the kiwifruit plants were grown. The Ministry for Primary Industries has reported the seeds were brought into New Zealand with a container of household goods when the owner moved to New Zealand in 1997. They were not declared and subsequently not detected at the border. Thankfully, testing by the Ministry for Primary Industries of plant material, grown by the owner from the seeds, has according to MPI, ruled out the presence of any serious disease-causing viruses, bacteria or fungi, including Psa-V. The ministry, therefore, assessed that the plants presented a low risk to the New Zealand kiwifruit industry, as the plants are at a location geographically removed from key kiwifruit growing areas. And the owner has stated that no plant material has been moved from the property. I understand that tracing of any other plant material that may have come from these seeds and a review of MPI's response is underway.
The NZ Herald reported on this incident and noted that MPI had known about these plants for more than a year before involving Kiwifruit Vine Health in the response. Two days after KVH became involved, the plants had been destroyed.
Second, tomatoes and capsicums coming from Queensland present a very high biosecurity risk of carrying fruit fly. To reduce that risk, the tomatoes and capsicums are to be irradiated. We are told that this is a treatment, which presents no risks to people who eat irradiated produce, is an effective killer of fruit fly. The remaining risk is any produce that inadvertently misses the irradiating treatment or if the irradiation plant is not operating effectively.
Third, Australia is downgrading some of its fruit fly precautions in key growing areas (such as Riverina and Shepparton), to reduce the 'regulatory burden” for growers and to ensure sustained market access from these regions. Reliance will be placed on treatments such as irradiation to protect New Zealand from a fruit fly incursion.
The critical question for the kiwifruit industry is: How secure is our biosecurity border? These three examples represent, in my view, a weakening of our biosecurity border protections. The kiwifruit industry knows from the Psa incursion how much dealing with incursions can cost. The cost of coping with Psa is in the hundreds of millions, and is on-going. A fruit fly incursion has been estimated to cost the Bay of Plenty a possible loss of more than 3400 jobs and $820 million in lost earnings in the first year.
What I conclude from of these three examples, the Psa incursion and the finding of a fruit fly last year in Auckland, is that industry needs to take a very proactive approach to biosecurity. The kiwifruit industry cannot take a back seat. Industry has to be involved in all aspects of New Zealand's biosecurity system. Industry also has to be very involved where there are incursions to
ensure that the interests of the industry are protected. This is accepted by the Government, and for biosecurity, joint industry and government agreements are being created to get a really effective biosecurity partnership into operation.
The other lesson we have learned is that industry and the Government need to work very closely together to meet and resolve biosecurity risks and incursions. This is not just my view.
The Auditor-General in two reports released in 2012 and 2002 about the Government's biosecurity system, and the Sapere Report also released in 2012 into the Psa incursion, make this as one of their most important findings.
Industry and the Government need to constantly keep in contact, providing each other with intelligence and continually and jointly assessing biosecurity risks. Industry and the Government also need to work together to ensure all that can be done at the border is done to protect industry as much as possible.
This is also one of the key aspects of the joint industry and government agreements for biosecurity. Therefore, to protect our kiwifruit industry, we need to be an effective and fully-consulted partner with the Government.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and are not necessarily the views of NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc or Kiwifruit Vine Health. The author is a Director of KVH. KVH was set up by the kiwifruit industry to manage the industry's response to Psa and other biosecurity threats and incursions. Its members are kiwifruit growers through NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc, the post-harvest operators, Zespri and Turners and Growers.