With the kiwifruit harvest just weeks away, orchardists are anxiously hoping the Queensland fruit fly found in Auckland on Monday is not part of a breeding population.
Neil Trebilco, president of the New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc, says if there is a breeding population, the ramifications for kiwifruit and the whole horticultural industry will be huge.
“If a fruit fly was found in the Bay of Plenty at the end of March,” says Neil, “it could stop kiwifruit exports and put huge costs onto an industry which has struggled to overcome the impacts of the vine disease Psa.
“At this stage it's just one insect and we hope that's all it is.”
The insect caught in a trap in Grey Lynn could have arrived on a piece of fruit in luggage, and Neil is urging travellers, in particular New Zealanders returning home, to make sure they don't bring fruit into the country.
If someone with a single piece of fruit containing fruit fly larvae arrives in the Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay or any other major horticultural area and the insect becomes established as a result, it will cost the country and its industries millions of dollars and the loss of jobs.
Neil says the current response operation to the Grey Lynn find is a test of the kiwifruit's industry's relationship with the government through the Government Industry Agreement on Biosecurity Readiness and Response.
“The GIA is about readiness and response, but we would hope we can also have some input into boarder control,” he adds.
“We are happy with the Ministry for Primary Industry's response measures to fruit fly, but as trapping of flies is becoming more common, we are worried that a population could become established here.”
Responding to a fruit fly find is a bit like an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, Neil says.
“We need ambulances, but it's also wise to make sure the fence at the top is strong,” he explains
Yesterday Barry O'Neil, CEO of Kiwifruit Vine Health, called for a return to 100 per cent baggage x-ray for passengers arriving from Australia and greater examination of fresh produce in an effort to detect fruit fly at the border.
These views are shared by Horticulture New Zealand, which also wants 100 per cent x-ray of passenger bags reinstated at international airports, at least until the summer ends.
For the fourth time in three years, New Zealand's $5 billion horticulture industry and all 5500 commercial fruit and vegetable growers are waiting to see how bad this detection will be.
“So far it is only one fly,” says HortNZ president Julian Raine. “We fully support the Ministry for Primary Industries' response to this threat.
“We also ask the public to back the Ministry's efforts, especially in the exclusion zone areas, as this pest will also have big impacts on home gardeners.”
The risk to the $6 billion New Zealand horticulture industry (including fruit, vegetables and wine) from the Queensland Fruit Fly is two-fold:
• The destruction caused by the pest and the on-going cost of attempting to control it.• The cost of international markets closing to our products.
Source - http://www.sunlive.co.nz
