Dear Customer,

The Department of Agriculture are implementing a range of urgent measures to address the risk the Khapra beetle represents to Australian agriculture.

The Khapra beetle is considered by government to be the number two threat to agriculture after the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB).

It has become increasingly important due to the betel becoming a “hitchhiker pest’’ on and in shipping containers.

The government has a dedicated web page on the subject of the beetle and the new laws and measures being introduced now and in the near future to prevent the pest coming in to Australia.

It is very important that all importers read the information on the governments web page at this link:
https://www.agriculture.gov.au/pests-diseases-weeds/plant/khapra-beetle/urgent-actions

and ascertain if their imported products and/or origin countries will be subject to controls and overseas treatments before being shipped to Australia.

The web page lists the products considered to be high risk plant products; other risk plant products and a list of countries which pose high risk of khapra beetle referred to as target risk countries.

The government actions are being implemented in phases, with changes not only being made to import conditions for plant products (in various raw and physically processed forms) but also general cargo imported from target risk countries. Please note some of the phases indicate different conditions for target risk countries and other risk countries (being all other countries). 

Phase 6A is commencing on 12 April 2021 and will introduce offshore treatment requirements for target risk sea containers.

A target risk container is defined as a Full Container Load/Full Container Consolidated (FCL/FCX) where:

• high-risk plant products are packed into the sea container in a khapra beetle target risk country
• other goods are packed into the sea container in a khapra beetle target risk country and destined to a rural grain growing area of Australia.

The target of these treatments is the container and not the goods/commodity being shipped within the container. This means that the container must be treated prior to packing, except if using methyl bromide fumigation.

Whilst Phases 3-5 are on currently hold, if they do relate to your imports, please ensure you understand the changes being made and pass these changes onto your supplier to ensure a smoother transition for when the changes take effect.

Phase 6B is expected to commence in late 2021 and will introduce new measures to a broader range of containers. 

Failure to comply with the changes may result in goods being destroyed on arrival or re exported. 

If you have any questions or require any further information, please contact us to discuss.