The Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) has issued Notice 23-2018 – Brown Marmorated Stink Bug (BMSB) Risk Season 2017-18 Mandatory treatment for goods shipped via sea cargo from Italy, which concerns imports of Italian goods during the risk season (goods shipped between 1 September 2017 to 30 April 2018 inclusive).
DAWR has found significant numbers of BMSB on arrival in Australia in various types of goods arriving from Italy and has reviewed the risk of failed offshore treatments of goods shipped via sea cargo from Italy with detections of live insects including BMSB.
To manage the risk posed by these goods, any sulfuryl fluoride treatment certificates issued by ANY Italian treatment provider that is presented to the department from 9 March 2018 will no longer be accepted. Any Italian goods shipped on or before 30 April 2018 will be required to undergo an approved BMSB treatment onshore unless they have been treated offshore using an approved BMSB treatment. Treatment certificates for approved BMSB treatments, other than sulfuryl fluoride, from Italy will still be accepted.
Exceptions from onshore BMSB treatment continues to apply to goods already treated with one of the approved offshore BMSB treatments, or that fall within one of the excluded tariff groups:
– Fresh produce (including nursery stock and live plants)
– Live animals
– Food for human consumption (including beverages)
– Seeds for sowing
– Registered pharmaceuticals
All other goods, whether FCL or LCL, arriving from Italy, including new and unused goods, and those already en-route to Australia, will require treatment on arrival using methyl bromide, or another approved treatment for BMSB. These measures are in addition to existing import requirements. DAWR will inspect randomly selected containers post-treatment to validate treatment effectiveness and to collect intelligence to determine future measures.
When unpacking goods, care should be taken to inspect locations where BMSB may congregate, including crevices or protected areas of shipping containers, inside the goods, or within packaging material.
