Consignments are to be free from pests, soil, weed seeds and extraneous material.
A copy of the import permit must be presented to an Authorised Officer at the time of inspection.
Pears sourced from Western Australia are prohibited to be exported to the USA.
USDA recognise Tasmania as Area Free for both Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) and Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni).
Treatment is not required for fruit which has been sourced / produced and exported from Tasmania.
Consignments from Tasmanian are required to be certified as Tasmanian origin and each container to be marked as being of Tasmanian origin.
Pests of concern are:
- Light brown apple moth (Epiphyas postvittana)
- Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni)
- Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata)
- fruit-leaf roller moths (Tortricidae family)
- all other fruit flies
If pests of the family Tortricidae are found during phytosanitary inspection the consignment must be treated with methyl bromide.
Treatment facilities must be certified by APHIS and undertaken on-shore in Australia under USDA, APHIS supervision
Consignments undergoing in-transit cold treatment to the USA must be lodged in the USDA PPQ 556 system prior to arrival. Exporters must contact Assessment Services PlantExportsNDH@agriculture.gov.au to request 556 processing at least 2 days before completion is required. Exporters must advise the department at the time of authorisation if transhipment via an additional country or vessel change will occur enroute to the USA or its territories.
Exporters are also responsible for ensuring shipping lines are aware of their obligations. Shipping lines must send a weekly 'pre-alert/vessel summary report' to PlantExportsNDH@agriculture.gov.au. This summary report must include the estimated date of vessel arrival and container details.
