Mangosteen and rambutan draft import health standard

Comment

Someone commented that dipping in sodium hypochlorite could be detrimental to plants and suggested that dipping in appropriate fungicides might be a better option.

Our response

Thank you for this feedback. Yes, sodium hypochlorite can be detrimental to plants. We have reviewed all the treatments and have removed the requirement for on-arrival treatment with hypochlorite, because we have noticed it is redundant.

We had proposed a requirement that all aerial parts of Nephelium lappaceum (rambutan) whole plants to be sprayed or dipped with 1% sodium hypochlorite for a minimum of 2 minutes on arrival at the quarantine greenhouse.  

After we reviewed all treatments that would be applied to rambutan, and we have concluded that this on-arrival hypochlorite treatment is not needed. This is because the measures for Helicobasidium mompa (section 2.2.1.9 of standard 155.02.26 Importation of Nursery Stock) provide a fungicidal treatment that applies to all whole plants and cuttings from Malaysia and Thailand. This treatment, which is applied before shipment, is sufficient to protect New Zealand from the fungal pests identified in our risk assessment for rambutan.

We note that the fungicidal treatment required by section 2.2.1.9 is likely to damage plants shipped with foliage. It is likely to cause burning of leaf edges and tips. Whole plants shipped with a terminated shoot bud and without leaves should be more tolerant of this treatment.

Comment

One person pointed out that bare root trees are a huge vector for pests. They felt that allowing trees to be imported is not wise from a biosecurity standpoint.

Our response

We agree that whole plants with roots present a higher pest risk than cuttings, which are in turn a higher risk than plants in vitro (tissue culture). However, we have appropriate measures in place for bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects and mites on plants with roots. We are confident that these measures are sufficient to manage the biosecurity risks of whole plants.

In addition to the fungicidal treatment required by section 2.2.19 (see above), we require that either imported whole plants are raised from seed/cuttings in soil-less media in containers maintained out of contact with soil, or the roots of the plants are dipped in fenamiphos at 1.6 g a.i. (active ingredient) per litre of water for 30 minutes (see section 2.2.1.6 of the import health standard Importation of Nursery Stock). This is to manage the risk from soil-borne nematodes.

We also require all whole plants to be treated for insects and mites. The requirements, which also apply to cuttings, are described in section 2.2.1.6 "Pesticide treatments for whole plants and cuttings" in the nursery stock import health standard [PDF, 3.5 MB].

We believe that these combined measures, together with inspection in post-entry quarantine, manage the risk to an appropriate level.

Comment

One person asked us to add the mangosteen species Garcinia mexicana and Garcinia humilis to the import health standard.

Our response

We cannot add Garcinia mexicana and Garcinia humilis at this time.

Under the HSNO Act, we can only allow imports of species that are not ‘new to New Zealand’. This means the plants must have been in New Zealand before July 1998 or the plants must have approval from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA). We don’t have any information about the status of these two species before July 1998, and so we cannot create import requirements for them. If you have evidence that either species has been in New Zealand for a long time or you think there are other good reasons why they should be allowed in, you can apply to the EPA and ask them to make a decision on this plant.

Contact EPA at neworganisms@epa.govt.nz

Or visit its website to get an overview of the process and the fees associated.

New organisms – Enviromental Protection Authority

If EPA decides that these species are not an ecological risk to New Zealand, MPI still needs to assess the biosecurity risks and decide on appropriate import requirements. To give you an idea of what is required, see Requesting a new import health standard

This includes information about requesting import requirements for new products, how MPI develops new import health standards (IHS) and how we prioritise requests for inclusion in our annual work programme.

You can request new import requirements at Requesting a new import health standard

Comment

Some people asked us to review the requirements for plants other tropical plants, such as lychees, Sapodilla, ilama and red finger limes.

Our response

Plants can only be imported for planting if the Plant Biosecurity Index (PBI) lists them as having a valid import specification.

Plants Biosecurity Index (PBI)

However, you also need to check this list:

Plant genera with specific import requirements that may require significant review before imports can be permitted [PDF, 125 KB]

If the plants are on that list, the requirements might be out of date because of lack of trade. To find out whether you can still import the plant, email plantimports@mpi.govt.nz

To use the index, you will need to know the full scientific name (genus and species) to find out the appropriate import specification under the nursery stock column.

You cannot import any species that is not listed or that is listed as ‘Entry prohibited’ or ‘Requires Assessment’. We recognise that tropical plant enthusiasts aren’t able to import all the plants they’re interested in at the moment because our requirements have not been updated for a long time. We receive multiple requests each year for new import health standards to enable imports of all sorts of plants, including tropical plants, and unfortunately, we can not review the requirements for all the requests that we receive.

If demand for tropical plants continues to grow, we will include requests in our next prioritisation process, in which we consider and compare all the requests we have received.

You can request new import requirements through Requesting a new import health standard

Comment

Some people thought the cost of keeping plants in post-entry quarantine (PEQ) will prevent people from importing plants.

Our response

We realise that cost has a large impact on people’s decisions to import plants. Importing nursery stock into New Zealand can be a complex process, and inspecting plants in PEQ does increase the cost. However, it is important that we inspect plants in PEQ because of the wide variety of pests that the plants could still have, even after the exporter has taken all the right measures.

Imported plants must meet general requirements before they are exported. This includes correct scientific identification, treatment for pests (see replies above), and phytosanitary certification by the exporting country’s government. A phytosanitary certificate assures us that the plants have been treated as required and inspected and found to be free from pests regulated in New Zealand.

These export requirements reduce the chances of imported plants having diseases. Nevertheless, some pests can be very slow to express symptoms, and so the plants may not be visibly infected at the time of export. Inspecting actively growing plants in post-entry quarantine greatly increases the likelihood of detecting pests that are slow to develop.

We need to balance the costs and benefits of both enabling trade and protecting our ecology and horticulture. We understand that the measures may be cost prohibitive for some individual importers, but this is offset by the general benefit to Aotearoa of preventing the impact of pests on our wider environment.

Most people who gave us feedback thought they could easily meet the requirements. The requirements are consistent with our requirements for other types of nursery stock, and we have not seen any effects on trade because of it.

Comments

We were asked whether we would assess the biosecurity risks of importing these plants from other countries if we ever allow imports from other countries in the future.

We were also asked if it will be clear in the import health standard that these plants can only be imported from Malaysia and Thailand.

Our response

Yes, if we add more countries to the import health standard, we will assess the biosecurity risks and also consult the public before we add any new countries. Currently, we plan only to allow mangosteen plants to be imported from Malaysia, and rambutan plants from Malaysia and Thailand. We focused on these two countries to speed up the risk assessment process and allow imports as soon as possible.

We will make sure the import health standard is clear about which countries the plants can be imported from.

Comments

Some people have commented that they would like wider media exposure about our consultations, including on social media.

Our response

We send out notifications to stakeholders that are already in our distribution list. We keep our list as up to date as possible. If you’d like to be added to our distribution list, let us know. We’re always happy to add people.

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We will consider using other platforms such as social media for future consultations.