Tuesday, 27 August 2024 12:55

Oz tomato seed imports banned

Written by  Staff Reporters
Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director Stuart Anderson. Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director Stuart Anderson.

Biosecurity New Zealand has placed import restrictions on tomato seed imports from Australia after the detection of tomato brown rugose fruit virus at two South Australian growing properties.

"We've stepped up our biosecurity requirements in response to the recent finds in South Australia," says Biosecurity New Zealand deputy director general Stuart Anderson.

"Imported seeds for sowing from Australia will now require testing for the virus prior to arrival in New Zealand, which is a requirement that is already in place for other countries where the virus is present. We have also temporarily suspended tomato imports from all Australian states except Queensland, where there is no evidence of the disease or links to the affected properties in South Australia." Anderson noted that all our imported tomatoes from Australia currently come from Queensland and not South Australia.

"We're in close contact with our counterparts in Australia about what they've found and the measures they are taking, and we'll continue to monitor the situation closely.

"We're committed to ensuring New Zealand growers are protected and that's why we've taken these steps already."

The virus, which was first noted in the Middle East, has never been found in New Zealand, and affects tomatoes, capsicums and chillies, causing yellowing and deformity in the host plants, but has no impact on human health.

"There is nothing to suggest the virus is here at present, but as always we ask growers to check their biosecurity practices and be vigilant and contact us on our pests and diseases hotline (0800 80 99 66) if they notice problems with their tomatoes," Anderson says.

More like this

$2.4m for fruit fly operation

Biosecurity New Zealand Commissioner, North, Mike Inglis says the $2.4 million cost of a recent biosecurity operation in South Auckland is small compared to the potential economic impact of an incursion.

Featured

Farmers urged not to be complacent about TB

New Zealand's TBfree programme has made great progress in reducing the impact of the disease on livestock herds, but there’s still a long way to go, according to Beef+Lamb NZ.

Editorial: Making wool great again

OPINION: Otago farmer and NZ First MP Mark Patterson is humble about the role that he’s played in mandating government agencies to use wool wherever possible in new and refurbished buildings.

National

Machinery & Products

Farmer-led group buys Novag

While the name and technology remain unchanged and new machines will continue to carry the Novag name, all the assets,…

Buhler name to go

Shareholders at a special meeting have approved a proposed deal that will see Buhler Industries, the publicly traded Versatile and…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

Make it 1000%!

OPINION: The appendage swinging contest between the US and China continues, with China hitting back with a new rate of…

Own goal

OPINION: The irony of President Trump’s tariff obsession is that the worst damage may be done to his own people.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter